LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS 
OF  JESUS 


G.H.WALSER 


JUL  15  1909      *] 


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Section  .W2 


THE  LIFE  AND 
TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


J — JUL  Ifi  1909 


THE  LIFE%^ 


£6/CAL 


Sl.UV^^ 


AND  TEACHINGS 


OF  JESUS 


BY  G.  H.  WALSER 


BOSTON 


SHERMAN,  FRENCH  &'  COMPANY 

1909 


Copyright,    1909 
Sherman,  French  &«  Company 


CONTENTS 

CHAP.  PAGE. 

I.     Ancient  Learning        ....  1 

II.     Before  the  Time  of  Jesus      .      .  44) 

III.     The  Conditions  when  Jesus  Came  118 

IV.     Who  was  Jesus? 150 

V.     Jesus'  Early  Life 192 

VI.     Preaching  and  Healing   .      .      .  220 

VII.     The  Mission  of  Jesus  ....  268 

VIII.     Jesus  saw  Their  Thoughts     .      .  332 

APPENDIX 

The  New  Testament   ....  359 

The  Early  Gods 418 


INTRODUCTION 

Why  should  I  attempt  to  write  the  life  of  the 
Master?  Other  pens  more  deft  than  mine  have 
left  their  tracings  of  him,  from  the  shrine  of  the 
manger  around  which  angels  sang  "  Glory  to 
God  on  High,"  through  his  trials,  tribulations, 
sorrows,  and  triumphs,  culminating  on  the  Cross 
and  glorified  in  his  ascension  as  he  looked  from 
the  throne  of  love  upon  those  who  maligned  his 
mission  and  persecuted  and  crucified  his  body  for 
no  cause  save  that  of  his  unbounded  goodness. 

Pens  endowed  with  the  flame  of  inspiration 
have  done  him  justice.  The  Gospels  are  in  the 
home  of  every  one,  in  which  the  physical  life  of 
Jesus  is  graphically  given,  and  it  would  be  pre- 
sumptuous in  me  to  attempt  to  improve  on  the 
least  of  them.  The  Gospels  contain  a  plain,  sim- 
ple narration  of  facts  that  can  neither  be  bettered 
in  the  manner  of  expression,  sublime  simplicity  of 
style,  or  order  of  presentation.  Each  important 
occurrence  in  the  Kfe  of  the  Master  has  been 
given  to  the  world  time  and  time  again,  and  every 
phase  of  his  life  brought  out  and  explained  so 
that  the  erudite  may  be  edified,  the  student  in- 
structed, the  sorrowing  consoled,  the  devotee 
strengthened,  and  the  stupid  enlightened. 

So  it  would  seem  an  act  of  superciliousness  in 
anyone  to  attempt  to  do  more.     But  it  seems  to 


INTRODUCTION 

me  that  the  hfe  of  Jesus  has  been  considered  more 
from  a  physical,  active,  man-Hving  standpoint 
than  from  that  philosophical  and  spiritual  trend 
of  events  which  gave  birth  to  the  necessity  of  the 
coming  of  the  Master,  and  life  and  character  to 
his  outward  conduct. 

There  were  two  lives  of  the  Master, —  one  the 
physical  hfe,  the  other  the  spiritual  life.  The 
philosophy  of  his  spiritual  life  came  up  with  the 
growth  of  human  thought  and  aspiration  from 
the  cradle  of  the  race  to  his  advent,  from  which 
the  starved  soul  of  humanity  received  new  im- 
petus, which  is  gathering  power,  beauty,  grace 
and  heavenly  virtues  as  time  rolls  along,  never 
failing,  never  swerving,  never  disappointing,  but 
growing  and  growing  into  the  fullness  of  a  God- 
comprehending  and  God-loving  people,  the  cul- 
mination of  which  will  only  be  when  all  men  are 
cemented  into  one  brotherhood,  where  the  cry  of 
one  is  the  concern  of  all,  when  fraternal  sincerity 
shall  be  engraved  on  the  lintel  of  every  man's 
door,  and  Friendship,  Love  and  Truth  imprinted 
on  every  heart.  This  phase  of  the  spiritual  life 
of  the  Master  will  mostly  claim  my  attention  in 
this  treatise.  This  phase  of  his  life  has  never 
been  fully  given  from  my  standpoint  of  mental 
and  spiritual  philosophy. 

I  write  from  the  standpoint  of  a  converted  In- 
fidel. I  have  patiently  investigated  without  bias 
all  sides  of  mental  and  spiritual  philosophies.  All 
I  desire  to  know  is  the  truth,  whose  foot-prints 


INTRODUCTION 

I  will  follow  wherever  it  leadeth ;  for  what  Is  truth 
for  one  is  truth  for  all,  whether  that  be  divine 
truth  or  secular. 

The  esoteric  life  of  the  Master  can  only  be 
fully  appreciated  through  the  aid  of  the  imagina- 
tion, guided  and  stimulated  by  all  the  facts  and 
events  of  the  world  at  his  time,  reverting  also  to 
the  past  and  penetrating  into  the  future.  The 
philosophy  of  the  life  of  Jesus  is  cosmopolitan ; 
every  chord  of  human  nature  may  find  a  harmo- 
nizing tone  in  the  spiritual  philosophy  of  Jesus. 
The  full  benefits  to  be  derived  from  the  life  of  the 
Master  must  be  taken  from  his  surroundings,  the 
necessity  of  his  coming,  and  the  light  that  he 
brought  with  him  to  the  world, —  all  aided  by  the 
imagination.  For  imagination  is  the  spirit  that 
comprehends  the  philosophy  of  human  conduct 
and  purposes.  It  concerns  itself  not  with  the  act 
in  itself,  but  with  the  philosophy  of  the  act.  It 
is  to  the  act  as  the  aroma  is  to  the  rose,  flavor  to 
the  peach,  life  to  the  being,  as  thought  is  to  the 
expression  of  the  mind.  Imagination  furnishes 
the  spiritual  record  of  the  physical  event.  Cold 
history  only  gives  physical  conduct;  imagination 
gives  the  flavor,  pathos,  exultation,  triumph,  sor- 
row, heart-ache,  anguish,  remorse,  or  whatever  the 
mental  sensations  the  act  or  event  inspires.  There 
is  an  outside  and  inside  to  every  thing,  every 
motive  and  act  of  man.  The  act  is  of  what  his- 
tory or  narration  treats,  which  is  the  frame-work 
of  the  transaction.     The  motive  underlying  the 


INTRODUCTION 

act  or  transaction,  or  its  effects  on  others  and  the 
outside  world,  is  the  philosophy  of  the  trans- 
action. 

It  is  our  province,  in  treating  of  the  life  of  the 
Master,  to  give  the  spirit  of  the  main  events  sur- 
rounding his  ministry,  that  my  readers  may  see 
the  science  of  his  mission,  the  motives  of  his  ene- 
mies in  their  persecutions  of  him,  his  triumphs  in 
the  exposure  of  wrongs  on  the  one  side,  and  his 
glories  in  the  demonstration  of  life  after  death 
and  the  fact  that  "  it  is  not  all  of  life  to  live,  nor 
all  of  death  to  die,"  on  the  other.  "  It  is  the 
Spirit  that  quickeneth ;  the  flesh  profiteth  noth- 
ing; the  words  that  I  speak  unto  you,  they  are 
spirit,  and  they  are  life."     John  vi,  63. 

If  we  can  get  the  spirit  of  the  life  of  the  Mas- 
ter, we  will  gain  golden  emotions  coined  in  the 
mint  of  everlasting  truth;  but  to  obtain  those 
blessings  we  must  read  between  the  lines,  and  read 
with  spirit  and  understanding.  We  must  train 
our  imaginations  to  the  comprehension  of  Jesus 
as  he  was,  a  sincere,  blameless  man,  undergoing  all 
the  hardships  and  vicissitudes  of  an  unappre- 
ciated life  that  the  eyes  of  an  obdurate  people 
might  be  opened  to  their  own  good  here  and  here- 
after, with  all  their  certainties  of  joys  or  dregs 
of  woe  according  to  the  merits  of  this  life. 

G.  H.  W. 


THE  LIFE  AND 
TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


I 

ANCIENT  LEARNING 

I  have  wandered  in  the  desert  of  disbelief, 
waded  the  river  of  doubt,  and  in  the  sands  of 
desolation*  I  have  looked  for  hope  and  found 
none;  my  heart  ached  and  my  soul  sickened,  for 
its  measure  was  not  satisfied.  I  felt  that  there 
was  something  more,  there  must  be  something 
more,  or  nature  is  a  fraud  and  life  the  gall  of 
a  bitter  cheat. 

I  looked  out  and  saw  struggling  humanity 
vying  within  itself  for  prestige.  Each  man,  it 
would  seem,  was  striving  with  the  rest  of  the 
world  for  place.  The  strong  were  overpowering 
the  weak;  force  seemed  to  rule;  the  masses  were 
in  a  ferver  of  discontent.  And  in  that  struggle 
I  saw  some  fall  by  the  wayside,  some  perish  at  the 
hands  of  violence,  some  sicken  and  die  with  but 
one  destiny  before  them  all, —  and  that  was  the 
destiny  of  death.  One  group  passes  off  the  stage 
and  another  takes  its  place;  one  man  steps  out 
and  another  steps  in  with  like  inclinations,  strug- 
gles, and  disappointments. 

My  soul  cried  out,  "  Is  there  nothing  better 
for  man.?  Is  it  his  destiny  to  oppress  and  be  op- 
pressed; to  wrong  and  be  wronged;  to  walk  in 
the  shades  and  shadows  of  strife ;  to  be  mocked  at 


2      LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

by  deceptive  smiles  ?  "  Raising  my  eyes,  for  I 
was  in  the  downcast  of  meditation,  I  saw  in  the 
distance,  over  the  apex  of  a  neighboring  hill-top, 
the  skirts  of  fading  night  giving  place  to  a 
roseate  morning  as  it  sent  its  golden  ribbons  up 
the  bending  sky.  I  kept  my  eye  fastened  on  the 
coming  light,  and  directly  the  sun  itself  sent  a 
smile  of  beauty  into  the  dark  valley  below.  As 
the  light  penetrated  the  darkness  surrounding  the 
people,  they  seemed  to  brighten  up ;  frowns  on 
their  faces  gave  way  to  smiles ;  harmony  took 
the  place  of  discord ;  and  I  saw  strong  men  kneel 
at  the  feet  of  a  little  child  and  humble  themselves 
in  its  presence. 

The  spell  left  me,  and  I  felt  as  if  I  had  just 
awakened  from  a  sweet  enchantment  —  a 
dream  —  something  that  was  not  real,  that  is,  as 
yet  realized;  yet  it  contained  a  kind  of  spiritual 
significance  that  meant  to  me  a  great  deal.  I 
went  to  my  home  for  meditation.  I  wanted  to 
know  the  real,  but  did  not  know  where  to  find  it. 
Feeling  the  impress  of  my  mother's  early  ad- 
monitions, I  sought  the  advice  of  the  clergy ;  but 
they  gave  me  such  a  doleful  picture  of  the  fall  of 
man  and  the  horrors  of  the  hereafter  that  my 
nature  revolted,  and  I  fell  into  the  conditions  of 
doubt.  That  led  me  out  into  the  field  of  my  own 
reason  and  I  lapsed  into  atheism ;  but  I  was  not 
satisfied.  I  feared  it  was  true,  yet  I  hoped  for  a 
better  ending  than  that  of  "  eternal  sleep  without 
dreams." 


ANCIENT  LEARNING  3 

I  felt  that  there  was  a  truth  somewhere  and 
that  someone  could  impart  it  to  me.  I  feared  to 
call  on  the  philosophers  of  old,  for  they  had 
been  called  pagans,  heathens  and  worshipers  of 
myths,  which  poisoned  my  mind  against  them.  I 
then  went  to  the  Bible  to  learn  of  it,  and  after 
reading  I  felt  more  befogged  than  ever.  I  did 
not  understand  it.  I  thought  it  to  be  a  mixture 
of  imaginations ;  a  compendium  of  the  laws  of 
ancient  times  for  a  peculiar  people,  with  scraps 
of  history  interblended  with  their  notions  of  re- 
ligion, which  did  not  comport  with  my  ideas  of 
what  religion  is,  or  at  least  should  be. 

My  conception  was  that  true  religion  is  the 
moral  development  of  the  human  soul.  It  is  not 
measured  by  any  particular  cult,  form  of  words, 
trained  actions,  or  belief;  but  it  is  the  soothing 
elevation  of  man's  higher  nature  that  best  fits 
him  for  the  needs  of  a  proper  life  according  to 
his  environment.  Thus  in  India  it  may  be  the 
enjoyment  of  good  religion  to  pay  adoration  to 
Buddah;  in  China,  to  the  great  prophet  Con- 
fucius ;  in  Hindostan,  to  Brahma.  The  Persians 
may  go  to  the  fountain  of  truth  as  expounded  by 
Zoroaster ;  the  Arabs  of  the  desert  may  be  guided 
by  Mahomet;  while  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  the  mil- 
lions may  see  the  light  and  be  benefited  thereby. 
If  the  heart  is  right,  the  religion  is  good  for 
those  who  profess  it.  Moreover,  it  strengthens 
the  mind  and  enriches  the  life  where  reason  is  the 
highest  oracle  of  man,  as  professed  by  the  Free- 


4      LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

thinkers.  The  Atheist  sees  God  in  the  boundless 
universe,  and  believes  that  the  culmination  of 
man's  duty  to  man  consists  in  doing  right  because 
it  is  right,  and  that  right  living  brings  its  own 
reward,  that  "  the  throne  of  Honor  can  only  be 
reached  by  first  going  through  the  temple  of 
Virtue."  Religion  thrives  best  in  the  heart  of 
sincerity,  by  whatever  name  you  may  call  it. 

Jesus  founded  no  church,  built  no  temple,  wrote 
no  creed ;  nor  did  he  establish  a  worship.  But  he 
did,  by  example,  sooth  the  sorrowing  heart,  healed 
the  sick,  and  inculcated  the  great  principles  of 
the  brotherhood  of  man  and  the  Fatherhood  of 
God.  He  inducted  the  heart  into  the  bosom  of 
love,  where  righteousness  is  king  and  mercy  the 
queen  of  the  empire  of  the  soul.  True  religion 
feels  not  the  pangs  of  jealousy.  It  allays  fanat- 
icism and  stays  the  hand  that  would  injure  an- 
other. It  is  fraternal  goodness  in  the  garden  of 
love. 

As  a  Freethinker,  I  was  led  out  into  the  field  of 
Materialism,  Atheism,  Agnosticism,  and,  finally. 
Spiritualism,  and  I  am  ever  thankful  for  my 
schooling  along  those  lines,  for  my  mind  has  been 
broadened,  my  conceptions  brightened,  and  my 
nature  brought  more  in  harmony  with  my  duty 
toward  my  fellow  men.  In  my  investigations  I 
have  learned  to  adore  the  memories  of  the  great 
thinkers,  students  and  advocates  of  different 
schools  of  thought,  and  I  have  found  in  all  of 
them  an  honesty  of  purpose  that  has  won  my.  ad- 
miration. 


ANCIENT  LEARNING  5 

All  men  and  peoples  want  to  be  right  and  are 
sincere  with  themselves  on  the  great  questions  of 
life,  death,  and  the  hereafter.  There  is  no  rea- 
son why  men  should  deceive  themselves  on  these 
subjects.  All  must  reap  the  realities  of  their 
lives,  whether  they  know  the  truth  and  believe 
truthfully  or  not.  All  individuals  came  into  the 
world  generally  alike,  but  individually  different, 
for  no  two  people  are  exactly  alike;  and  all  must 
go  out  generally  alike,  but  individually  different, 
for  man  is  measured  according  to  his  life.  I  find 
that  men  differ  more  in  the  phraseology  and  ex- 
pression of  their  ideas  than  they  do  in  the  facts 
themselves.  The  aims  of  all  men  of  thought  and 
ability  are  the  same;  but  some  wish  to  arrive  at 
the  goal  of  their  ambition  by  going  one  road, 
while  others  just  as  sincere  of  purpose  choose 
another  road.  One  class  is  just  as  honest  as  the 
other. 

In  studying  the  Bible  we  must  take  into  con- 
sideration the  time  it  was  written ;  the  state  of  the 
minds  of  the  people ;  their  religion,  culture,  gov- 
ernment; the  necessities  for  the  production  of 
each  book,  and  the  objects  sought  to  be  obtained. 
The  Bible  was  not  written  to  conserve  one  pur- 
pose alone ;  but  it  was  written  at  different  times, 
by  different  men,  for  different  purposes. 

The  material  forming  the  basis  of  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Bible  narratives  covers  events 
that  were  two  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty 
years  in  transpiring.     Moses  began  writing  the 


6      LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

Pentateuch  In  the  year  1451  B.  C,  and  the  books 
were  eleven  hundred  and  fifty-four  years  in  being 
produced.  The  book  of  Malachi  was  written 
397  years  B.  C.  We  need  not  wonder  if  we  find 
some  inharmony  through  the  work ;  for  each 
book  was  to  conserve  a  certain  purpose,  according 
to  the  needs  of  the  people  at  the  time.  The  same 
rule  prevails  at  this  day ;  what  is  a  good  law  for 
one  age  may  be  a  bad  law  for  another,  for  the 
conditions  of  human  society  are  constantly  chang- 
ing, and  as  the  needs  of  the  people  change,  the 
law  must  change  accordingly. 

In  writing  the  life  of  the  Master  we  must  call 
to  our  aid  the  work  of  society  building  from  the 
early  ages  of  the  Chaldeans,  Babylonians,  Egypt- 
ians, and  the  Israelites,  up  to  the  present  time, 
for  the  philosophy  of  the  New  Testament  began 
in  those  early  ages,  and  has  not  yet  been  con- 
cluded, and  never  will  be  concluded  until  society 
achieves  perfection.  In  presenting  the  life  of 
Jesus  I  shall  take  into  consideration  every  fact, 
historical,  scientific,  and  otherwise  that  has  a 
bearing  on  the  subject.  I  shall  endeavor  to  be 
faithful,  and  will  be  guided  by  the  dictates  of 
truth  in  all  things.  In  gathering  material  for 
the  production  of  this  life  of  Jesus,  I  have  found 
it  profitable  to  look  into  the  philosophy,  beliefs, 
and  teachings  of  different  classes  of  people,  sects, 
and  denominations  of  the  world,  and  I  have  not 
found  my  efforts  barren  of  good  results ;  and  I 
am  thankful  that  I  did,  for  in  my  investigations 


ANCIENT  LEARNING  7 

among  the  skeptics  of  the  ages,  and  of  philoso- 
phers of  different  cults  and  schools,  I  have  gained 
a  clearer  conception  of  God  and  the  spiritual 
mission  of  Jesus  than  I  could  have  obtained  by 
studying  but  one  side  of  the  subjects  of  investiga- 
tion. One  who  cannot  read  both  sides  of  a  ques- 
tion is  not  fit  to  judge  of  either  side. 

In  my  search  among  the  Grecian  philosophers 
I  came  across  the  maxims  of  Thales,  the  Milesian, 
who  lived  about  six  hundred  years  before  the  birth 
of  Christ;  these  maxims  to  me  seem  to  be  pure 
reason  on  the  being  of  God.  "  God,"  he  said, 
"  is  the  most  ancient  of  all  beings ;  he  is  the  author 
of  the  universe,  which  is  full  of  wonders.  He 
is  the  Mind  which  brought  chaos  out  of  confu- 
sion into  order;  he  is  without  beginning  and 
without  ending,  and  nothing  is  hid  from  him; 
nothing  can  resist  the  force  of  fate,  but  this 
fate  is  nothing  but  the  immutable  reason  and 
eternal  power  of  Providence."  Reasoning  on  the 
philosophy  of  that  maxim  we  must  conclude  that 
God  is  absolute  mind.  He  is  intelligence  and 
absolute  wisdom ;  hence  he  knows  every  thing, 
past,  present  and  future. 

PYTHAGORAS 

Pythagoras,  chief  of  the  Italic  school,  be- 
came my  ideal  master,  and  I  devoured  his  writ- 
ings, or  what  there  is  left  of  them,  with  a  zest 
that  filled  me,  for  a  while,  with  his  learning  and 
methods.      In    training   his   pupils   he    impressed 


8      LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

upon  them  the  importance  of  silent  meditation 
and  great  purity  of  morals.  No  one,  he  taught, 
could  obtain  knowledge  of  divine  things  unless 
the  heart  was  purged  of  all  passions  and  impuri- 
ties. Of  God  he  says,  "  God  is  neither  the  ob- 
ject of  sense  nor  subject  of  passion,  but  invisi- 
ble and  supremely  intelligent.  In  his  body  he 
is  like  the  light,  and  in  his  soul  he  resembles 
truth.  He  is  the  universal  spirit  that  pervades 
and  difFuseth  itself  over  all  nature.  All  beings 
receive  their  life  from  him.  There  is  but  one 
only  God,  who  is  not  as  some  are  apt  to  imagine, 
seated  above  the  world,  beyond  the  orb  of  the 
universe;  but  being  all  within  himself,  he  seeth 
all  beings  that  inhabit  his  immensity.  He  is  the 
sole  principle,  the  light  of  heaven,  the  Father 
of  all.  He  produces  everything,  he  orders  and 
disposes  everything.  He  is  the  reason,  the  life, 
and  the  motion  of  all  things." 

Subordinate  to  God  were  intelligent  beings, 
manifesting  themselves  to  man  in  various  ways ; 
among  those  beings  were  gods,  heroes,  and  souls. 
He  considered  the  first  class  as  a  part  of  the 
sovereign  Mind;  next  were  heroes,  or  ministers, 
whose  office  it  was  to  instruct  human  souls  and 
raise  them  up  to  the  position  of  Divine  essence. 
Pythagoras  maintained  that  unity  was  the  prin- 
ciple of  all  things,  and  that  from  this  unity  emi- 
nated  all  things.  He  agreed  with  Thales  that 
the  soul  is  a  self-moving  principle,  and  main- 
tained that  when  it  quits  the  body   it  is  united 


ANCIENT  LEARNING  9 

to  the  soul  of  the  world;  that  it  is  not  a  god, 
but  the  work  of  an  eternal  god,  and  that  it  is 
immortal  on  account  of  its  principle. 

Regarding  the  composition  of  man,  Pythag- 
oras taught  that  it  was  composed  of  three 
parts :  a  mortal,  gross  body,  a  substance  he  called 
"  the  subtile  vehicle  of  the  soul,"  and  pure  spirit. 
He  held  that  the  pure  spirit  and  the  subtile 
vehicle  were  born  together  and  were  inseparable, 
and  returned  after  death  "  to  the  star  from 
whence  they  descended," —  a  slight  difference  in 
wording  from  St.  Paul,  but  the  same  ideas.  In 
speaking  of  the  resurrection  Paul  says,  "  But 
some  men  will  say,  How  are  the  dead  raised  up? 
And  with  what  body  do  they  come?  Thou  fool, 
that  which  thou  sowest  is  not  the  body  which 
shall  be,  but  bare  grain.  So  also  is  the  resur- 
rection of  the  dead;  it  is  sown  in  corruption,  it 
is  raised  in  incorruption ;  it  is  sown  in  dishonor, 
it  is  raised  in  glory ;  it  is  sown  in  weakness,  it 
is  raised  in  power ;  it  is  sown  a  natural  bodj',  it 
is  raised  a  spiritual  body.  Now  this  I  say, 
brethren,  because  flesh  and  blood  cannot  enter 
the  kingdom  of  God." 

SOCRATES 

Socrates  also  believed  and  taught  that  there 
was  but  one  eternal  principle,  with  inferior  gods 
which  he  called  demons,  or  middle  spirits  be- 
tween the  Infinite  and  the  spirit  of  man.  He 
claimed  that   he   conversed   daily   with   those   de- 


10     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

mons,  that  they  advised  him  and  always  warned 
him  of  danger.  This  was  considered  heresy 
among  the  Greeks,  for  which  he  was  tried  and 
found  guilty  and  ordered  to  drink  the  deadly 
hemlock,  but  was  offered  his  liberty  and  a  com- 
mutation of  the  sentence  if  he  would  retract  his 
doctrines,  which  he  refused  to  do.  Truth  was 
more  dear  to  him  than  life. 

Xenophon  has  left  us  an  abridgment  of  the 
theolog}^  of  that  philosopher.  Socrates  had  a 
friend,  Aristodemus,  who  doubted  the  existence 
of  God  and  questioned  Socrates  on  the  point. 
Socrates  called  the  attention  of  his  friend  to  the 
beauties  and  grandeur  of  nature ;  to  the  different 
forms  of  mineral,  vegetable,  and  animal  life,  as 
well  as  to  the  designs  of  art  and  the  wisdom  of 
man  in  producing  his  handiwork  for  the  use  and 
gratification  of  the  finer  senses  of  the  race ;  and 
finall}^  to  his  own  physical,  mental,  and  spiritual 
make  up. 

"  Do  you  believe,"  said  he  to  Aristodemus, 
**  can  you  believe  that  you  are  the  only  intelli- 
gent being.?  You  know  that  you  possess  but  a 
little  particle  of  that  matter  which  composes  the 
world,  a  small  portion  of  water  that  moistens  it, 
a  spark  of  that  flame  which  animates  it.  Is  un- 
derstanding peculiar  to  you  alone?  Have  you 
so  engrossed  and  confined  it  to  yourself  that  it 
is  to  be  found  no  where  else.?  Does  blind  chance 
work  everything,  and  is  there  no  such  thing  as 
wisdom  besides  what  you  have.?  " 


ANCIENT  LEARNING  11 

Aristodemus  replied  that  he  did  not  see  that 
wise  architect  of  the  world. 

Socrates,  answering,  said,  "  Neither  do  you 
see  the  soul  that  governs  your  own  body  and 
regulates  all  its  motions.  You  might  as  well 
conclude  that  you  do  nothing  yourself  with  de- 
sign and  reason  as  maintain  that  everything  in 
the  universe  is  done  by  blind  chance." 

Aristodemus,  being  unable  to  answer  the  ar- 
guments of  Socrates,  acknowledged  a  Supreme 
Being,  but  doubted  special  providence,  not  being 
able  to  comprehend  how  the  Deity  can  see  every- 
thing at  once. 

Socrates  replied :  "  If  the  spirit  that  resides 
in  your  body  moves  and  disposes  it  at  its 
pleasure,  why  should  not  that  sovereign  wisdom 
which  presides  over  the  universe  be  able  likewise 
to  regulate  and  order  everything  as  it  pleases? 
If  your  eye  can  see  objects  at  the  distance  of  sev- 
eral furlongs,  why  should  not  the  eye  of  God  be 
able  to  see  everything  at  once?  If  your  soul 
can  think  at  the  same  time  upon  what  is  at 
Athens,  in  Egypt,  and  Sicily,  why  should  not 
the  Divine  mind  be  able  to  take  care  of  every- 
thing, being  everywhere  present  at  his  work .''  " 
Socrates,  observing  that  the  infidelity  of  hici 
friend  arose  from  his  heart  rather  than  in  his 
mind  as  an  honest  searcher  after  trath,  concludecl 
in  these  words :  "  O  Aristodemus,  apply  your- 
self sincerely  to  worship  God ;  he  will  enlighten 
you,  and  all  your  doubts  will  soon  be  removed." 


12     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

That  old  philosopher  comprehended  the  way 
to  find  out  the  truths  of  God  long  before  the 
Master  said,  "  Seek  and  ye  shall  find ;  knock  and 
it  shall  be  opened  unto  you."  What  a  field  for 
contemplation  in  the  foregoing  lessons !  The 
first  proposition,  that  the  wisdom  displayed  in  the 
composition  and  make  up  of  the  universe  and 
the  hannony  revealed  therein,  could  not  come  by 
blind  chance,  demonstrates  that  since  God  sees 
everything.  He  is  everywhere  at  His  work ;  in 
other  words,  God  is  omnipresent ;  as  the  spirit 
of  man  is  in  possession  of  the  body  and  controls 
that  body  at  will:  so  the  spirit  of  God  is  in 
everything,  as  a  part  of  Himself.  Who  would 
venture  to  say  that  He  could  not  manifest  His 
power  in  everything,  know  and  see  everything, 
being  present  in  all  things.'' 

Democritus,  elaborating  on  the  same  philos- 
ophy, maintained,  in  his  atomic  theory,  that 
'■  force,  intelligence,  and  wisdom  reside  in  everj' 
atom  of  the  universe  and  are  manifest  in  every- 
thing." Taking  up  that  idea,  I  was  induced 
some  years  ago  to  publish  a  book  "  Orthopaedia," 
in  which  I  elaborated  on  the  subject  of  "  Atomic 
Intelligence,"  to  which  I  call  the  reader's  at- 
tention for  more  information  on  the  subject 
than  I  can  give  in  this  connection. 

ARISTOTLE 

Among  the  great  thinkers  of  the  world  there 
was    none,    even    Thales    himself,    that    eclipsed 


ANCIENT  LEARNING  13 

Aristotle  in  range,  variety,  and  depth  of 
thought.  He  Hved  close  to  the  intelligence  of 
the  gods,  and  perceived  fundamental  truths  con- 
cerning the  occult  forces  of  nature  that  in  some 
instances  have  withstood  the  assaults  of  time, 
prejudice,  ignorance,  and  the  subtile  enemy  of 
progress,  superstition.  On  the  being  and  om- 
nipotence of  God  he  was  most  clear  and  convinc- 
ing. "  God,"  he  maintained,  "  is  the  eternal  and 
living  Being,  the  most  noble  of  all  beings,  a 
substance  entirely  distinct  from  matter,  without 
extension,  without  division,  without  parts  and 
without  succession ;  who  understands  everything 
by  one  single  act,  and,  continuing  himself  im- 
movable, gives  motion  to  all  things,  and  enjoys 
within  himself  perfect  happiness,  as  knowing  and 
contemplating  himself  with  infinite  pleasure." 
"  God  is  the  Supreme  Intelligence,  which  acts 
with  order,  proportion,  and  design,  and  is  the 
source  of  all  that  is  good,  excellent,  and  just. 
That  Supreme  Mind  is  by  its  nature  prior  to  all 
things ;  he  has  a  sovereign  dominion  over  all." 
And  again  he  says :  "  The  first  principle  is  neither 
fire,  nor  earth,  nor  water,  nor  anything  that  is  the 
object  of  sense;  but  Spiritual  Substance  is  the 
cause  of  the  universe,  and  the  source  of  all 
the  order  and  all  the  beauties,  as  well  as  all  the 
motions  and  all  the  forms  we  admire  so  much 
in  it."  While  Aristotle  believed  in  the  eternity 
of  matter,  he  also  believed  in  the  eternity  of 
spirit,  which  "  permeated,  controlled,  and  classi- 


14     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

fied  matter  into  the  different  entities  of  the  uni- 
verse." 

What  a  cogent  and  self-evident  conception  of 
God !  He  is  presented  as  the  Supreme  Intelh- 
gence  and  Supreme  Mind,  not  as  merely  possess- 
ing Supreme  Intelligence  and  Supreme  Mind ; 
that  is,  God  is  mind  and  intelligence,  as  well  as 
spirit,  which  are  infinite  in  duration,  prior  to  all 
things,  and  comprehend  all  things.  There  can 
be  but  one  Infinite  which  controls  all  entities  in 
the  universe.  Is  there  a  later  philosopher  who 
has  delved  deeper  or  soared  higher.?  In  fact,  we 
must  go  to  the  ancients  for  a  description  of 
God's  nature.  The  Bible  does  not  attempt  to 
demonstrate  the  reality  of  God;  His  being  is 
treated  as  an  evident  fact,  without  the  least  effort 
to  prove  that  God  is  God. 

The  ancient  Persians  erected  neither  temples, 
statues,  nor  altars  for  the  worship  of  their  God. 
Heroditus,  in  speaking  of  them,  says :  "  They 
think  it  ridiculous  to  fancy,  like  the  Greeks,  that 
the  gods  have  any  human  shape  or  derive  their 
original  from  man ;  they  choose  the  highest 
mountain  for  the  place  of  their  sacrifices ;  they 
use  neither  libations  nor  music,  nor  hallowed 
bread;  but  when  anyone  wishes  to  sacrifice,  he 
leads  the  victim  into  a  clean  place  and  wearing  a 
wreath  of  myrtle  about  his  tire,  invokes  the  god 
to  whom  he  intends  to  offer  it.  The  priest  is 
not  allowed  to  pray  for  his  own  private  good, 
but  for  that  of  the  nation  in  general,  each  par- 


ANCIENT  LEARNING  15 

ticular  member  finding  his  benefit  in  the  good  of 
the  whole."  While  the  Persians  believed  in  one 
supreme  God,  they  worshiped  fire,  the  sun  and 
stars,  as  merely  visible  images  of  the  one  Su- 
preme God  whom  they  believed  to  be  the  sover- 
eign Lord  of  nature. 

The  religion  of  Zoroaster  defines  its  concep- 
tion of  God  as  "  the  first  of  all  incorruptible  be- 
ings, eternal  and  unbegotten.  He  is  not  com- 
pounded of  parts.  There  is  nothing  equal  to  Him 
or  like  Him.  He  is  the  author  of  all  good  and  is 
entirely  disinterested ;  the  most  excellent  of  all  ex- 
cellent beings,  and  the  wisest  of  all  Intelligent 
Nature;  the  father  of  equity,  the  parent  of 
good  laws,  self-instructed,  self-sufficient,  and  the 
first  former  of  nature." 

The  Orphean  religion  defines  God  as  "  the  one 
unknown  being  above  and  prior  to  all  beings, 
the  author  of  all  beings,  even  of  the  ether.  This 
exalted  being  is  life,  light,  and  wisdom,  which 
three  names  express  only  the  one  power,  which 
draws  all  beings,  visible  and  invisible,  out  of 
nothing." 

According  to  the  Platonic  philosophy,  there  is 
one  Supreme  Being,  one  universal  power  and 
mind  not  dethroned  or  injured  by  whatever  name 
may  be  applied  to  him.  By  Jove,  Plato  meant 
the  Guardian  and  Governor  of  the  universe,  the 
Understand'mg  and  the  Mind.  "  The  Master 
and  the  Architect  of  this  great  machine,"  you 
are  not  in  the  wrong  if  you  call  him  Fate,  for  he 


16    LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

is  the  cause  of  causes,  and  everything  depends  on 
him.  Should  jou  call  him  Providence,  you  would 
fall  into  no  mistake,  for  it  is  by  his  wisdom  this 
world  is  governed.  Should  you  call  him  Nature, 
you  will  not  offend,  for  it  is  from  him  that  all 
beings  derive  their  origin,  it  is  by  him  that  they 
live  and  breathe. 

David,  in  a  burst  of  eloquence,  soared  away 
on  the  wings  of  sublimity,  and  seasoned  the  phi- 
losophy of  the  pagans  in  sacred  song. 

O  Lord  thou  hast  searched  me  and  known  me, 

Thou  knowest  my  down-sitting  and  mine  uprising. 

Thou  understandeth  my  thoughts  afar  off. 

Thou  compassest  my  path  and  my  lying  down. 

And  art  acquainted  with  all  my  ways. 

For  there  is  not  a  word  in  my  tongue 

But,  lo,  O  Lord,  thou  knowest  it  altogether. 

Thou  hast  beset  me  behind  and  before 

And  laid  thine  hand  upon  me. 

Such  knowledge  is  too  wonderful  for  me; 

It  is  high,  I  cannot  attain  unto  it. 

Whither  shall  I  go  from  thy  spirit? 

Or  whither  shall  I  flee  from  thy  presence? 

If  I  ascend  up  into  heaven,  thou  art  there. 

If  I  make  my  bed  in  hell,  behold,  thou  art  there. 

If  I  take  the  wings  of  the  morning, 

And  dwell  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea. 

Even  there  shall  thy  hand  lead  me, 

And  thy  right  hand  shall  hold  me. 

If  I  say,  surely  the  darkness  shall  cover  me. 

Even  the  night  shall  be  light  about  me. 

Yea,  the  darkness  hideth  not  from  thee. 


ANCIENT  LEARNING  17 

But  the  night  shineth  as  the  day. 

The  darkness  and  the  light  are  both  alike  to  thee. 

For  thou  hast  possessed  my  reins, 

Thou  hast  covered  me  in  my  mother's  womb. 

EPICURUS 

Epicurus,  a  Greek  philosopher,  was  born  in 
the  year  342  B.  C.  and  died  in  the  year  270,  at 
the  age  of  72.  When  eighteen  years  old  he 
went  to  Athens  and  became  a  student  of  Pam- 
philius.  After  an  absence  of  five  years  he  re- 
turned to  his  home  in  Calophon.  At  the  age 
of  30  he  came  again  to  Athens  and  opened  a 
school,  which  soon  became  popular,  and  on  the 
strength  of  his  new  philosophy  he  established  a 
community  which  was  a  model  of  its  kind  and 
which  left  on  the  thinking  world  the  imprints  of 
a  great  mind.  Epicurus  flirted  the  idea  of  pro- 
curing happiness  through  the  emotions  of  re- 
ligion, or  worship  of  the  gods,  contending  as  a 
cardinal  factor  of  his  philosophy  that  true  and 
lasting  happiness  could  only  be  obtained  through 
the  exercise  of  reason.  No  other  school  of  an- 
cient times  ever  obtained  such  cohesive  powers  as 
this  one;  its  advocates  seemed  wedded  to  its 
principles,  and  soon  spread  its  philosophy  all 
through  Greece  and  Rome  as  well.  Though  the 
organization  has  disappeared  as  such,  yet  its 
philosophy  finds  lodgment  in  the  minds  of  many 
cultured  people  even  up  to  this  day ;  notwith- 
standing the  prevailing  attempt  to  associate  the 


18     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

name  of  Epicurianism  with  that  of  lascivious- 
ness,  gluttony,  and  loose  physical  pleasures. 
There  was  nothing  more  foreign  to  the  tenets  of 
Epicurus  than  bad  morals.  As  a  man,  Epicurus 
was  a  type  of  the  purest  moral  rectitude.  He 
taught  moderation  in  eating,  and  exemplary  de- 
meanor in  all  other  associations  of  life. 

He  taught  that  according  to  the  physical  de- 
velopment of  man,  happiness  was  his  highest  and 
greatest  aim,  which  in  its  purest  and  most  last- 
ing effects  could  only  be  obtained  through  the 
practice  of  temperance,  chastity,  and  a  healthy 
intellectual  development.  To  attain  to  the  state 
of  bliss  it  was  necessary  to  keep  all  the  passions 
of  the  mind  in  a  state  of  equilibrium.  This  same 
doctrine  was  taught  by  the  Stoics ;  yet  they 
waged  a  relentless  social  war  on  the  Epicurians, 
and  perhaps  it  was  they  who  instigated  the  libel 
of  training  the  appetites  and  passions  to  insub- 
ordinate indulgences.  It  was  the  practice  then, 
as  it  is  now  among  the  low  and  vulgar  of  mind, 
to  abuse  those  whom  they  cannot  answer. 

Epicurus  was  a  voluminous  writer;  it  is  said 
that  he  wrote  over  three  hundred  volumes,  though 
few  of  his  books  are  extant.  What  we  have 
learned  of  him  is  chiefly  from  the  writings  of 
Cicero,  Pliny,  and  Lucretius.  Reason  was  the 
guiding  oracle  of  his  life,  and  bliss  the  daughter 
only  of  supreme  repose,  shorn  of  all  anxious  care 
and  perplexities.  He  impressed  on  his  school 
the  golden  opportunities  of  the  present:  the  past 


ANCIENT  LEARNING  19 

should  give  us  no  concern,  for  it  was  gone  never 
to  return ;  the  future  was  ahead,  never  to  bless  us 
with  its  smiling  kiss. 

Reason  should  be  the  adviser  of  every  sensuous 
feeling ;  through  reason  the  sensations  should  be 
so  directed  that  the  best  results  might  ensue. 
Virtue  should  be  cultivated  ,for  its  benefits 
by  the  dictates  of  reason  through  charity,  peace- 
fulness  of  mind,  temperance,  patience,  and  self- 
command.  All  laws  are  restraints  of  natural 
rights  and  individual  actions  imposed  through 
the  necessities  of  society.  The  highest  motive 
of  man  to  do  right  is  induced  from  self-interest. 
In  the  abstract  that  is  true ;  in  morals  it  is  wrong. 
Repose  of  mind  can  only  be  attained  through 
the  observance  of  the  laws  of  nature  and  the 
divinity. 

As  an  expounder  of  the  atomic  theory,  Epi- 
curus advanced  the  idea  that  matter  is  composed 
of  atoms  which  are  indivisible  and  unchangeable; 
although  having  gravity  and  filling  space,  they 
are  infinite  in  number,  shape,  and  volume.  He 
regarded  the  universe  both  as  infinite  and  as  a 
unit  which  is  unchangeable,  for  the  aggregate  of 
matter  remains  always  the  same.  The  universe 
cannot  be  the  result  of  divine  action ;  if  it  was, 
evil  could  not  exist.  All  things  were  formed 
from  the  atom  drifting  through  space  and  find- 
ing proper  lodgment  in  the  building  up  of  en- 
tities and  things  without  a  purpose  or  design. 
The  atoms  of  fire  are  pushed  upward  and  form 


20     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

the  celestial  bodies ;  the  more  dense  atoms  settle 
into  atmosphere;  while  the  heavier  are  precipi- 
tated into  water  and  earth.  Everything  is  sim- 
ply the  result  of  accident:  the  idea  of  a  divine 
Creator  is  but  the  invention  of  the  human  mind. 

His  play  on  metaphysics  cumbers  up  the  sub- 
stances making  up  the  human  soul,  which  he 
places  at  four ;  one  is  warmth,  one  air,  one  breath, 
and  one  an  unknown  substance.  The  three  first 
are  distributed  through  the  whole  of  the  body: 
the  fourth  has  its  seat  in  the  pectorial  cavity, 
and  this  he  denominates  the  soul  of  the  soul. 
The  soul  is  not  immortal,  but  dies  with  the  body. 
Death  should  not  be  reckoned  an  evil,  because  on 
its  visitation  all  consciousness  is  annihilated,  and 
eternal  repose,  without  troubles  or  dreams,  is  the 
common  lot  of  man ! 

The  only  real  standard  of  truth  is  knowledge 
instructed  through  the  action  of  the  senses.  The 
gods  are  living  beings  possessing  human  shape, 
but  of  colossal  proportions.  They  are  immortal 
and  live  in  eternal  bliss,  in  the  sublime  enjoyment 
of  wisdom  and  virtue,  without  concern  for  the 
affairs  of  man.  Their  home  is  in  the  spaces  be- 
tween the  celestial  bodies.' 

DEMOCRITUS 

In  looking  back  over  the  list  of  great  thinkers 
during  the  philosophic  age  of  Greece  and  Rome, 
none  strikes  us  with  more  force  than  that  of 
Democritus.     His   wonderful   range   of  thought 


ANCIENT  LEARNING  21 

embraced  an  astonishing  number  of  subjects  on 
which  he  wrote  treatises,  but  unfortunately  for 
the  world,  the  most  of  them  are  only  known  from 
the  list  of  titles  that  survived  the  hands  of  the 
spoiler.  He  wrote  treatises  on  physics,  geome- 
try, arithmetic,  astronomy,  optics,  geography, 
zoology,  botany,  medicine,  music,  grammar,  his- 
tory, poetry  and  ethics,  besides  his  great  crown- 
ing thesis  on  his  Atomic  Theory  and  its  appli- 
cation to  cosmology  and  physics,  which  work  is 
also  in  the  hidden  womb  of  time,  and  we  can  ar- 
rive at  what  he  had  to  say  on  these  subjects  only 
from  references  gleaned  from  other  writers  and 
critics.  Dionysius  places  the  name  of  Democri- 
tus  first,  in  classifying  the  great  minds  of  a  few 
centuries  before  Christ,  in  which  lived  and  wrote 
the  flowing  genius  of  that  philosophical  age, 
which  yet  adorns  the  human  intellect,  and  in- 
structs the  thought  of  investigating  minds. 

To  his  atomic  theory  only  will  space  be  given 
here.  He  advanced  the  idea  that  the  atom  was 
the  basis  of  all  things ;  that  the  atom  and  its 
derivatives  comprehend  the  whole  of  nature  and 
compose  every  element  in  the  compound  of  the 
universe;  that  in  the  deific  idea  of  the  existence 
of  gods,  demons,  and  souls,  they  were  but  the 
creatures  of  thought  excited  through  the  mani- 
festations of  nature  and  woven  into  individual- 
izations by  imaginative  poets  and  dreamers, 
though  he  did  not  deny  that  divinations,  dreams, 
prophesies,  and  warnings  of  approaching  events 


22     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

were  ofttimes  impressed  on  the  mind,  principly 
during  sleep. 

In  his  atomic  theory  he  classified  all  the  de- 
grees of  human  intelligence,  sensations,  and 
thought  as  atomic  materialities,  produced  from 
atomic  impressions  from  without.  The  thought 
impressions  that  are  manifest  in  the  mind  are  de- 
termined by  mental  effluvia  of  atomic  structure; 
they  form  images  in  the  mind,  the  seat  of  which 
is  the  brain,  and  those  images  find  expression 
in  thoughts  communicated  from  person  to  person 
through  the  power  of  speech.  God  was  nothing 
in  his  system ;  there  was  naught  but  atomic  ma- 
teriality. Death  destroyed  the  structure  of  all 
things,  and  at  that  climax  dissolution  took  place, 
the  atoms  being  resolved  back  to  their  original 
properties  and  activities. 

ANAXAGORAS 

Anaxagoras  was  an  Ionian,  who  was  bom 
600  B.  C.  and  died  428  B.  C.  He  rejected 
wealth  and  honors  that  he  might  devote  his  life 
to  meditation  and  philosophy.  During  his  early 
studies,  in  order  to  have  more  advantages  than 
he  could  in  his  native  town,  he  went  to  Athens, 
where  he  lived  in  close  intimacy  with  Pericles. 
It  was  very  fortunate  that  he  did  so,  because  for 
his  new  and  scientific  ideas  he  aroused  the  ire  of 
some  of  the  priests  of  Greece,  which  led  to  his 
arrest  on  a  charge  of  impiety.  He  was  con- 
demned  to   die,   for  the   accusation    of   straying 


ANCIENT  LEARNING  23 

from  the  dogmas  of  the  priesthood  in  those  days 
was  equivalent  to  condemnation  and  death;  but 
he  was  saved  this  extreme  penalty  through  the 
influence  of  Pericles,  and  received  a  sentence  of 
banishment  instead.  He  retired  to  Lampsacus, 
where  he  soon  afterwards  died  in  abject  pov- 
erty. 

Anaxagoras  was  supposed  to  be  the  first  among 
the  Greeks  who  conceived  the  idea  of  God  as  a 
Divine  Mind  acting  upon  matter  with  conscious 
intelligence  and  design.  He  denied  the  preva- 
lent idea  that  the  sun  was  a  deity,  but  claimed 
that  it  was  an  inanimate,  fiery  mass  and,  there- 
fore, not  a  proper  object  of  worship.  He  as- 
serted that  the  miraculous  appearances  were 
nothing  more  than  the  manifestations  of  nature 
and  could  be  explained  by  natural  laws.  He 
made  many  discoveries  in  both  mathematics  and 
astronomy.  He  suggested  that  the  moon  emitted 
her  light  by  reflection  from  the  rays  of  the  sun, 
and  he  rightly  explained  solar  and  lunar  eclipses. 

These  assertions  brought  him  into  great 
danger.  The  people  whom  he  would  enlighten 
would  not  allow  him  to  stand  between  them  and 
their  conception  that  the  sun  was  a  god  to  which 
they  should  pay  adoration. 

On  one  occasion,  an  Athenian  priest  having 
predicted  disasters  to  the  state  from  the  appear- 
ance of  a  ram  with  a  single  horn,  he  opened  the 
head  of  the  animal  and  showed  the  peculiar  struc- 
ture which  prevented  the   growth   of  the  other 


24    LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

horn.  He  exposed  the  myths  of  Homer  and  ex- 
plained the  names  of  the  gods  by  allegory. 

For  those  teachings  he  was  condemned  to  die. 
When  informed  of  the  sentence  he  said  that  was 
nothing  new,  that  nature  had  passed  that  penalty 
on  him  before  he  was  born.  When  he  was  asked 
what  should  be  done  with  his  remains  after  the 
execution,  he  replied :  "  It  makes  no  difference 
to  me;  the  road  on  the  other  side  of  the  grave 
is  just  as  long  from  one  place  as  from  another." 

What  a  curse  dogmatism,  in  religion  has  been 
to  the  world!  All  the  sciences  have  come  up 
through  religious  opposition.  I  do  not  wish  to 
be  understood  as  applying  these  innuendoes  to 
the  true  elevation  of  religious  devotion,  for  true 
religion  is  clear  of  such  charges.  The  charges 
rest  against  man-made  dogmas,  which  have  been 
enemies  to  all  kinds  of  progress  from  time  im- 
memorial. 

THE  STOIC  PHILOSOPHY 

The  Stoic  philosophy  was  builded  on  the  es- 
thetic beauty  of  mind-culture.  It  regarded  the 
highest  culture  of  man  to  be  the  proper  devel- 
opment of  his  reason,  through  which  true  happi- 
ness alone  can  be  obtained.  On  that  theory  it 
sought  to  construct  society.  It  wove  around  the 
soul  of  humanity  the  purest  imagination,  and 
with  it  soared  away  to  the  region  of  elevated 
thought  and  associated  the  imagery  of  man  with 
Divine   conceptions   clothed  in   flesh.     It   sought 


ANCIENT  LEARNING  25 

to  deal  with  the  nature  of  man  as  he  should  be 
rather  than  as  he  was,  and  upon  that  plane  it 
builded  its  philosophy  and  science  of  life. 

The  Epicureans  considered  man  as  a  sensuous 
being,  and  treated  him  as  a  flesh-bom  creature 
endowed  with  a  mind,  but  moved  by  emotions, 
passions,  energy,  self-interest,  and  human  will 
subject  to  misrule  and  wrong  actions  impelled 
by  his  nature.  Viewing  him  thus,  it  sought  to 
better  his  conditions  through  the  culture  of  his 
faculties  associated  with  his  senses.  In  other 
words,  the  one  philosophy  dealt  with  man  in  an 
esthetic  manner;  the  other  in  a  sensuous  manner. 

The  Stoic  and  Christian  philosophies  of  life 
are  so  nearly  alike  that,  metaphorically  speaking, 
we  might  call  them  brother  and  sister  in  aim  and 
thought.  Saint  Jerome,  in  his  enthusiastic 
admiration  of  their  likeness,  exclaimed,  "  Stoici 
nostra  dogmati  in  plerisque  cam;orat."  Seneca, 
the  great  Stoic  moralist,  was  called  en  pene 
noster.  Montesquieu  said,  "  If  I  could  for  one 
moment  forget  that  I  was  a  Christian,  I  would 
not  hesitate  to  account  the  extinction  of  the 
Stoic  cult  among  the  misfortunes  of  mankind." 
While  Stoicism  advocates  a  high  culture,  per- 
haps too  esthetic  for  common  application,  yet 
we  must  keep  in  mind  the  old  adage,  "  When  you 
let  fly  the  arrow,  aim  at  the  moon;  you  will  not 
hit  the  moon,  but  it  will  fly  higher  than  if  your 
aim  was  on  a  level."  The  moral  is,  keep  in  mind 
the  highest  culture.     Did  we  not  daily  strive  to 


26     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

keep  in  mind  a  higher  manhood,  the  race  would 
relapse  into  barbarism  and  we  would  be  contend- 
ing with  wild  beasts  for  the  mastery  of  caves  to 
dwell  in. 

The  name  Stoic  was  derived  from  the  school 
of  Zeno,  founded  by  him  in  Athens,  from  his 
practice  of  giving  his  instructions  in  an  open 
porch  or  colonnade ;  hence  "  stoic  "  means  porch. 
Zeno,  the  founder  of  this  school,  was  born  at 
Citim,  in  the  isle  of  Cyprus,  about  the  year  362 
B.  C,  and  died  about  264  B.  C.  He  started  in 
life  as  a  merchant,  in  partnership  with  his  father, 
but  having  suffered  great  losses  from  the  de- 
struction of  a  cargo  of  goods  by  sliipwreck,  he 
quit  his  business  as  a  merchant,  and  going  to 
Athens  opened  up  his  school,  and  remained  at  its 
head  for  fifty-eight  years,  dying  at  the  advanced 
age  of  98.  He  enjoyed  the  respect  and  esteem 
of  the  citizens  of  Athens  for  his  austerity  of  life 
and  boldness  of  language.  Through  his  watch- 
ful care  over  the  morals  of  the  youths  and  his 
instruction  to  them  in  the  principles  of  wisdom 
and  virtue,  giving  his  own  life  as  an  example, 
he  deserved  so  well  of  the  republic  that  at  his 
death  he  was  awarded  a  crown  of  gold. 

According  to  the  theory  of  Zeno,  before  there 
was  a  heaven  or  earth  there  was  a  universal  sub- 
stance or  pneuma:  this  comprehended  everything, 
even  the  elements  of  God.  By  an  action  of  the 
pneuma  a  refining  process  took  place,  and  out  of 
the  essence  of  being  emerged  a  deific  force  named 


ANCIENT  LEARNING  27 

God,  which  embraced,  assimilated,  and  compre- 
hended everything.  To  the  question,  "  What  is 
God,"  the  answer  came  back,  "  What  is  God 
not?  "  The  original  state  of  God,  pneuma,  and 
the  world  were  indentical. 

Pneuma  is  the  vital  spirit  of  everything.  It 
is  pure  reason.  It  is  eternal,  the  embodiment  of 
the  all  of  the  universe ;  while  the  soul,  being  in- 
dividualized in  man,  is  mortal  if  corrupted  by  sin 
in  this  stage  of  existence.  If  the  man  lived  a 
pure  and  upright  life  here,  at  death  he  goes  to 
the  regions  of  Elesia,  and  is  finally  blended  into 
the  pneuma  of  the  universe,  in  which  he  is  swal- 
lowed up  and  becomes  as  God  in  wisdom  and  bliss. 

It  was  the  teaching  of  the  Stoics  that  from  the 
soul  arises  all  our  sensations,  mind-forces,  will- 
power, reason,  and  judgment ;  that  the  physical 
body  moves  as  the  soul  thinks  or  reasons ;  that 
the  soul  fills  the  entire  body  of  man,  guiding  and 
pressing  him  on,  moulding  and  giving  him  char- 
acter as  a  rational  being.  Like  unto  man,  the 
soul  of  God  penetrates  the  earth  and  controls  it. 
The  soul  of  the  universe  is  a  mode  of  the  activity 
of  God  and  is  of  His  being. 

Pleasure  and  the  motives  that  move  man  to 
their  enjoyment  are  founded,  according  to  the 
Stoic  teachings,  in  self-preservation.  Epicurus 
taught  that  the  motive  law  of  pleasure  is  the  in- 
structive activities  of  the  physical  senses.  Accord- 
ing to  Zeno,  the  activities  of  pleasure  lead  to  de- 
cay and  death,  as  the  bloom  of  the  flower  por- 


28     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

tends  withering  and  decay.  Zeno  endeavored  to 
impress  on  his  students  the  importance  of  living 
according  to  nature.  The  perfection  of  any- 
thing is  called  its  virtue;  the  virtue  of  man  is 
the  perfection  of  his  soul. 

Zeno,  in  his  ideal  republic,  advanced  the  theory 
that  exclusive  family  government  should  not  ex- 
ist. There  should  be  neither  law,  courts,  schools, 
temples,  money,  nor  individual  holdings,  but  all 
should  be  merged  into  one  common  good.  There 
should  be  no  difference  between  a  Greek  or  a  bar- 
barian, bond  or  free,  male  or  female,  but  all 
should  be  recognized  as  equal  and  share  equal 
benefits  and  bear  equally  the  burdens.  There 
should  be  neither  rich  nor  poor  among  the  mem- 
bers of  society.  There  ought  to  be  but  one  law, 
and  that  law  should  be  the  law  of  God  which 
he  had  evolved  from  himself. 

ANAXIMANDER 

Passing  from  the  high  ideals  of  God  and 
esthetic  morality,  we  come  to  another  class  of 
thinkers  whose  conclusions  and  philosophies  are 
entirely  different  from  those  just  considered. 
We  first  meet  an  old  Grecian,  Anaximander,  who 
was  bom  in  611  B.  C.  He  believed  that  the 
universe  was  at  first  an  unlimited  mass  of  matter, 
of  extremely  small  particles,  eternal  in  duration, 
subject  neither  to  old  age  nor  to  decay.  From 
this  mass  of  matter  a  series  of  beings  were  con- 
tinually   issuing,    which    were    supplied    and   fed 


ANCIENT  LEARNING  29 

with  fresh  incoming  matter.  This  vast  mass 
seemed  to  possess  energy  and  intelHgence.  It  em- 
braced everything  and  directed  the  movements  of 
all  things.  Out  of  this  limitless  mass  sprang  a 
central  mass,  this  earth  of  ours,  which  was  cylin- 
drical in  shape  and  poised  equidistant  from  sur- 
rounding orbs  of  fire  which  had  originally  clung 
to  the  earth-mass  like  bark  round  a  tree  until  they 
parted  into  several  wheel-shaped  and  fire-filled 
bubbles  of  air.  Man  and  animals  sprang  into 
existence  from  this  central  earth-mass ;  first  came 
animals,  and  from  certain  species  of  animals 
sprang  man,  or  perhaps  from  the  water.  This 
endless  mass  was  the  prime  cause  of  motion  and 
separate  existence  and  individual  forms.  In  due 
time  all  individual  forms  and  existences  would 
die,  and  the  earth  itself  would  disappear  and  go 
back  into  its  former  condition  in  the  mass  of  mat- 
ter whence  it  came.  Death  and  decay  were 
caused  from  some  sin,  the  penalty  of  which  was 
a  return  to  the  immensity  of  matter  out  of  which 
all  things  had  emerged.  He  held  that  matter 
created  every  entity  in  existence,  or,  in  other 
words,  that  matter  was  God,  outside  of  which 
there  was  nothing. 

CARNEADES 

Cameades,  a  Greek,  left  his  impression  on  hu- 
manity through  ideas  gathered  from  physical  ob- 
servations of  natural  objects,  which  still  impress 
uncultured   minds   in   spiritual   philosophy   to   a 


30     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

considerable  extent,  but  his  teachings  gave  rise 
to  no  school  or  society.  Many  ask,  like  Car- 
neades,  if  God  is  all-powerful,  good,  and  wise, 
why  he  permits  so  much  misery,  strife,  contention, 
crime,  and  sin  to  exist.  Carneades  was  bom 
about  the  year  213  B.  C.  and  died  about  129 
B.  C. 

He  was  the  most  powerful  of  the  ancient  skep- 
tics. He  seemed  not  to  believe  in  the  truth  of 
anything,  "  Experience,"  he  averred,  "  clearly 
shows  that  there  are  no  true  impressions ;  that 
every  impression  on  the  human  organism,  whether 
mental,  physical,  or  moral,  was  subject  to  con- 
ditions and  uncertainties.  He  saw  no  motive  in 
nature :  everything  was  chance,  produced  by  force 
without  motive.  There  is  no  criterion  of  truth, 
no  certainty  in  anything  that  could  be  relied 
upon  as  stable.  Everything  is  in  a  state  of 
change:  what  is  to-day  is  not  to-morrow. 

In  pointing  to  the  evils  that  befall  man,  he 
asserted  that  they  were  in  evidence  against  the 
existence  of  a  divine,  superintending  Providence ; 
that  the  world  is  but  the  product  of  natural 
forces  and  that  there  is  no  proof  to  the  con- 
trary ;  that  matter  and  its  forces  produce  every- 
thing ;  that  the  idea  of  God  is  but  a  figment  of 
the  mind ;  that  things  are  a  sequence  of  natural 
forces,  because  they  have  to  be  as  a  necessity  of 
natural  combinations  of  matter.  Virtue  is  a 
natural  attribute  of  nature,  since,  being  relative, 
it  cannot  be  an  attribute  of  God ;   for  what  is 


ANCIENT  LEARNING  31 

virtuous  in  one  place  and  among  some  people  is 
considered  an  evil  in  another  place  and  among 
other  people.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  abso- 
lute intelligence  embodied  in  a  divine  Being; 
what  there  is  in  nature  is  produced  through  the 
force  of  conditions. 

LUCRETIUS 

Among  great  atheistic  advocates  of  ancient 
times,  Lucretius,  a  Roman  philosopher  and  poet, 
stands  at  the  head.  He  was  a  great  thinker  and 
was  possessed  of  such  wonderful  powers  of 
language  and  description  that  if  one  is  not  con- 
vinced by  his  logic  he  is  charmed  by  his  man- 
ner. Lucretius  was  born  about  the  year  95  B.  C. 
and  died  by  his  own  hand  at  the  age  of  44.  He 
was  the  greatest  of  the  didactic  poets,  and  left 
to  the  world,  as  an  inheritance  of  sublime 
thought  clothed  in  the  purest  diction,  six  books 
of  a  poem  entitled  "The  Nature  Of  Things." 
While  the  subjects  treated  in  this  poem  are  dry 
to  the  general  reader,  his  linguistic  ability  has 
lent  his  writings  a  charm  that  is  both  fascinating 
and  instructive.  Although  we  may  not  believe 
in  his  philosophy,  we  cannot  but  be  interested  in 
his  presentation  of  the  state  of  philosophy  and 
scientific  learning  of  those  times,  for  no  other 
writer  has  more  fully  explained  the  metaphysics, 
cosmology  and  science  of  that  day. 

Lucretius  was  a  profound  thinker,  and  was 
most  sincere  in  his  belief.      He  succeeded  at  least 


S2     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

in  convincing  himself  of  the  truth  of  his  phil- 
osophy and,  in  fact,  many  of  his  ideas  have  ad- 
hered to  the  minds  of  men  even  to  this  day,  es- 
pecially the  dregs  of  his  central  idea  of  God,  life, 
death,  and  the  future  state.  The  basic  prin- 
ciples of  the  atomic  theory  advocated  by  Epi- 
curus, and  later  by  Democritus,  were  embraced 
by  Lucretius.  Matter  is  the  all-creative  force  of 
the  universe,  in  contradistinction  to  the  Stoic 
philosophy,  which  places  all  power,  intelligence, 
wisdom,  and  dominion  over  nature  in  a  Universal 
Spiritual  Mind.  Lucretius,  through  the  medium 
of  a  high  order  of  poetry,  taught  the  doctrine 
that  there  are  but  two  infinities, —  one  that  of 
atoms,  and  the  other  that  of  a  void.  He  taught 
that  matter  had,  in  its  potentiality,  every  nec- 
essary element  of  combining  itself  into  all  the 
different  entities,  powers,  and  forces  with  which 
the  universe  is  pregnant. 

Matter,  he  advocated,  is  composed  of  atoms 
infinite  in  number,  shapes  and  densities.  By 
their  nature  they  are  always  in  motion,  and 
through  their  restless,  mobile  powers  they  have 
fitted  themselves  into  the  building  of  all  the  dif- 
ferent things  of  earth  and  heaven.  His  novel 
theory  may  be  summarized  in  this  way:  those 
infinitesimal  atoms  fill  the  entire  void  of  nature, 
and  are  eternally  in  the  struggle  for  places  in 
the  building  up  of  entities,  substances  and  forces ; 
by  their  different  shapes  and  densities  they  are 
enabled  to  build  everything  that  is  in  existence; 


ANCIENT  LEARNING  33 

in  their  atomic  struggle  for  place,  if  an  atom 
gets  into  a  wrong  place  it  is  crowded  out  and  on 
until  it  finds  its  proper  place ;  every  atom  must 
fit  where  it  properly  belongs,  on  the  same  prin- 
ciple that  the  architect  of  a  building  or  structure 
has  a  stone  for  each  particular  place  in  the  edi- 
fice, and  if  a  wrong  stone  is  brought  it  is  pushed 
aside  and  the  proper  one  found  to  fill  the  void. 
Thus,  by  an  eternal  struggle  of  things,  through 
the  force  of  their  own  natures,  they  produced 
all  things  from  necessity  and  not  from  an  intelli- 
gent adaptation  or  guidance  of  a  supreme  power. 

Lucretius  argued  against  the  proposition  of 
the  meddling  of  the  gods  in  the  concerns  of  the 
world,  for  the  reason,  he  maintained,  that  the 
gods  were  like  unto  men,  but  much  larger;  that 
they  inhabited  the  interstellar  spaces  between  the 
orbs  of  heaven ;  that  their  happiness  consisted  in 
absolute  rest  and  inactivity,  and,  therefore,  they 
would  not  have  their  halcyon  joys  disturbed  by 
engaging  in  the  perplexities  of  world-making; 
and  again,  there  are  so  many  defects  in  nature 
that  the  gods  in  their  wisdom  would  have  rem- 
edied them  and  turned  the  world  off  without  any 
incongruities.  Had  the  gods  been  the  architects 
of  the  world,  there  would  not  have  been  any  such 
a  thing  as  evil;  everything  would  have  been  so 
constructed  that  absolute  harmony  would  be  the 
dominant  factor  of  nature. 

"  I  am  ready  to  affirm,"  he  says,  "  led  by  many 
other  circumstances,  to  maintain  that  the  nature 


84     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

of  the  world  has  by  no  means  been  made  for 
us  by  divine  power.  If  you  would  keep  in  mind 
and  observe  nature  to  be  free  and  clear  of  her 
haughty  lords,  you  would  comprehend  her  doing 
all  things  without  the  intermeddling  of  the  gods ; 
for  I  appeal  to  the  holy  breast  of  the  gods,  who 
in  tranquil  peace  pass  their  time  and  unruffled 
existence:  Who  can  control  the  sum  of  nature? 
Who  can  hold  in  his  hands  the  strong  reins  of 
the  immeasurable  deep?  Who  can  make  at  once 
all  the  different  heavens  roll,  and  warm  with 
ethereal  fires  all  the  fruitful  earth,  or  be  present 
in  all  places  at  all  times,  to  bring  darkness  with 
clouds  and  shake  with  noise  heaven's  serene  ex- 
panse, hurl  bolts  of  lightning,  and  often  throw 
down  his  own  temples,  spend  his  rage  in  practic- 
ing bolts,  which  often  pass  the  guilty  and  strike 
dead  the  innocent  and  unoffending?  Did  the 
gods  rule,  sickness,  sorrow,  heart-aches,  and  dis- 
ease would  have  been  supplanted  by  health,  joy, 
and  happiness." 

From  nothing,  he  declared,  nothing  could  be 
produced,  and  when  a  thing  was  once  produced 
the  elements  out  of  which  if  was  constructed 
could  not  be  destroyed.  Nature  is  self-repro- 
ducing; when  a  thing  dies,  something  else  takes 
its  place.  Nothing  can  be  produced  except  on 
the  death  of  some  other  thing;  thus  life  and 
death  are  eternally  taking  from  and  supplying 
each  other  from  their  own  forces,  and  not  from 
any  outside  powers  or  intelligences.     He  asserted 


ANCIENT  LEARNING  35 

that  it  was  fallacious  to  assert  that  God  is  the 
sum  of  all,  or  can  be  in  all  places  and  conditions 
at  the  same  time. 

The  writings  of  Lucretius  are  especially  inter- 
esting in  showing  the  state  of  mental  culture 
at  his  day.  It  reveals  a  very  strong  mentality 
among  the  philosophers  endowed  with  original 
thought,  for  they  had  no  guidance  but  that  of 
reason,  and  they  could  but  reason  from  physical 
causes  to  problematic  effects,  while  we  have  the 
wisdom  of  the  entire  past  to  draw  from.  There 
had  been  a  glimmering  of  thought  sent  out  that 
the  earth  was  inhabited  on  both  sides,  that  it  was 
swimming  in  the  atmosphere,  and  that  the  sun, 
moon,  and  stars  went  around  the  earth  producing 
night  on  one  side  and  day  on  the  other  at  the 
same  time.  This  theory  Lucretius  condemned  in 
the  strongest  terms. 

"  The  sun  and  moon,"  he  said,  "  are  no  larger 
than  they  seem  to  our  sight ;  they  are  controlled 
in  their  circuit  around  our  world  by  a  current 
of  air.  The  shifting  of  the  air  causes  the  shift- 
ing and  changing  of  the  courses  and  motions  of 
the  planets.  The  air  pushes  the  sun  and  moon 
around  and  under  the  earth.  The  idea  is  pre- 
posterous that  people  live  on  the  under  side  of 
the  earth ;  they  would  be  standing  on  their  heads, 
and  of  course  topple  over.  There  is  no  outside 
or  inside  to  the  universe:  all  is  the  center  there- 
of. IMatter  pressing  on  matter  has  the  effect  of 
holding  all  things  in  their  places." 


36     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

Lucretius  maintains  most  strongly  that  the 
mind  of  man  and  the  soul  are  mortal  and  die  with 
the  body.  "  I  would  say,"  he  says,  "  that  the 
mind,  which  we  often  call  our  understanding,  in 
which  dwell  the  directing  and  governing  princi- 
ples of  life,  is  no  less  a  part  of  the  man  than 
his  hand  and  foot,  and  is  a  part  of  the  whole 
living  creature.  I  assert  that  the  mind  and  the 
soul  are  kept  together  in  close  union  and  are 
made  up  of  the  same  nature,  but  that  directing 
principle  which  we  call  mind  is  in  the  head,  so 
to  speak,  and  reigns  paramount  in  the  whole 
body.  It  has  a  fixed  seat  in  the  middle  of  the 
breast ;  here  throbs  fear  and  apprehension,  sooth- 
ing joys,  and  the  emotions  of  the  soul.  When 
the  mind  is  excited  by  some  vehement  apprehen- 
sion, we  see  the  whole  soul  feel  in  unison  through 
all  the  limbs ;  sweats  and  paleness  spread  over  the 
whole  body,  the  tongue  falters,  the  voice  dies 
away,  a  mist  covers  the  eyes,  the  ears  tingle,  and 
the  limbs  sink  under  one ;  in  short,  we  often  see 
men  drop  down  through  terror  of  mind.  This 
same  principle  teaches  us  that  the  nature  of  mind 
and  soul  are  bodily.  Now  mark  me,  that  you 
may  know  that  the  mind  and  souls  of  living  crea- 
tures have  birth  and  are  mortal." 

Lucretius  believed  that  both  mind  and  soul  are 
substances,  of  fine  qualities.  "  When  I  choose  to 
speak  of  the  soul,"  he  says,  "  showing  it  to  be 
mortal,  believe  that  I  speak  of  the  mind  as 
well,  inasmuch  as  both  make  up  one  thing  and 


ANCIENT  LEARNING  37 

are  one  united  substance."  Lucretius  regarded 
death,  soothed  with  an  unwaking  sleep,  as  far 
preferable  to  a  continued  life  after  death.  He 
brings  us  the  ancient  conception  of  punishment 
after  death,  with  its  horrors  which  eternal  sleep 
alone  could  escape.  Tityus  laid  in  Acheron  with 
birds  eating  the  vitals,  never  exhausted,  never 
ceasing,  always  replenishing  the  torn  flesh  sev- 
ered by  beak  and  claw ;  Tantalus  forever  rolling 
up  the  hill  the  pressing  rock,  forever  falling, 
forever  falling  back  upon  him  again ;  Sisyphus 
yearning  for  power,  to  strive  and  to  fail  etern- 
ally ;  hunger,  gnawing  hunger,  cramping  the 
vitals,  with  sweet,  rich  viands  always  in  reach, 
but  never  to  be  obtained, —  these  were  pictures 
of  the  horrors  of  the  dead  that  made  his  philos- 
ophy of  death  far  preferable  to  a  continued  ex- 
istence. 

Under  certain  circumstances  Lucretius  advo- 
cated suicide,  and  the  force  of  his  thoughts  on 
this  subject  was  doubtless  the  cause  of  his  death. 
At  the  early  age  of  forty-four  years,  he  severed 
the  thread  of  life  by  taking  a  love  philtre,  as 
it  is  said,  which  dethroned  his  reason  and  put 
out  his  light.  "  If  the  nature  of  things  could 
have  the  power  of  speech,"  he  said,  "  your  ears 
would  be  regaled  with  the  wisdom  of  expediency. 
What  hast  thou,  O  mortal,  so  much  at  heart  that 
thou  goeth  such  lengths  in  sickly  sorrow.-^  Why 
bemoan  and  bewail  death.'*  Why  not,  then,  take 
thy  departure  like  a  guest  filled  with  life  and  with 


38  LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

resignation?  Thou  fool,  enter  upon  untold  rest. 
Why  seek  to  make  additions  to  what  is  wasted  per- 
versely in  its  turn  and  lost  utterly  without  avail? 
Why  not  rather  make  an  end  of  life  and  travail  ?  " 
He  did  it ;  he  reaped  the  fruits  of  his  philosophy 
and  of  his  disappointment  on  uncovering  his  eyes 
and  viewing  eternity  hovering  over  a  suicide,  a 
self-murderer  gasping  in  his  own  guilt,  with  no 
one  to  forgive. 

JUSTIN  MARTYR 

We  now  turn  to  the  Christian  fathers,  among 
the  first  of  whom  was  Justin  Martyr.  The  birth 
of  Justin  Martyr  is  variously  estimated  at  A.  D. 
89,  103,  114,  and  118.  In  his  youth  he  studied 
the  Greek  philosophy.  He  was  a  great  lover 
of  truth.  He  followed  the  dictates  of  his  bet- 
ter judgment  wherever  it  might  lead  him,  re- 
gardless of  results.  That  love  of  truth  led 
him  into  many  beliefs.  First  he  was  a  Stoic, 
then  a  peripatetic,  and,  finally,  a  Platonist. 
While  meditating  by  the  seaside  on  the  Platonic 
doctrine  of  ideas,  an  old  man  of  meek  and  vener- 
able aspect  impressed  on  his  mind  that  although 
Plato  was  the  most  illustrious  of  all  the  heathen 
philosophers,  he  was  ignorant  of  many  things, 
and  recommended  to  him  the  beauties  of  the 
Hebrew  Prophets.  This  attracted  his  attention 
to  the  philosophy  of  the  Master,  and  the  result 
was  he  became  a  Christian.  After  that  he 
refused  to  sacrifice  to  the  heathen  gods.     This 


ANCIENT  LEARNING  39 

so  enraged  Marcus  Aurelius  that  he  caused  his 
arrest  and  trial  for  heresy.  He  was  convicted, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  and  executed  on  the  very 
day  of  his  conviction. 

Justin  Martyr  was  one  of  the  first  exponents 
of  the  "  New  Religion,"  but  it  is  quite  difficult 
to  determine,  at  this  late  day,  what  Gospels  he 
used  in  his  comments.  It  is  quite  evident  that 
he  did  not  use  any  of  the  Synoptic  Gospels,  for 
he  does  not  refer  to  them  either  in  his  two 
"  Apologies,"  or  his  "  Dialogue  with  Trypho" ; 
but  he  very  frequently  referred  to  the  "  Memoirs 
of  the  Gospels."  It  is  evident  that  at  that  time 
there  were  writings  relating  to  the  life  of  Jesus 
other  than  what  we  have  now.  Another  signifi- 
cant fact  is  that  his  quotations  in  many  instances 
diff'ered  from  the  Synoptic  Gospels. 

Justin  Martyr,  living  in  the  atmosphere  of 
the  early  Gospels  and  believing  in  them,  gave  ut- 
terance to  sayings  which,  with  those  of  other 
great  thinkers  of  the  time,  have  ripened  and  are 
still  ripening  into  spiritual  enlightenment  for  the 
race.  He  was  among  the  first  who  tried  to 
reconcile  philosophy  and  Christianity.  He  be- 
lieved in  a  future  life  and  confidently  expected  to 
share  a  blessed  immortality. 

ORIGEN 

The  most  learned  of  the  Christian  fathers  was 
Origen,  who  was  bom  about  the  year  A.  D.  185 
and  died  A.   D.    254.     He  laid   down   the   rules 


40     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

of  the  science  of  the  church.  There  Is  a  philos- 
ophy attending  everything;  everything  that  ex- 
ists is  governed  by  laws  peculiar  to  its  manifes- 
tation. A  thing,  thought,  or  action  cannot  be, 
unless  it  manifests  itself  according  to  its  nature. 
So  there  is  a  science  of  the  church,  or  a  church- 
science  which  harmonizes,  or  attempts  to  har- 
monize, man  with  the  being  and  essence  of  God. 
Origen  labored  to  make  manifest  this  har- 
mony. He  was  the  founder  of  Christian  the- 
ology. He  did  not  attempt  the  strained  idea 
that  the  Christian  religion  was  entirely  new  in 
its  conceptions ;  he  was  wise  enough  to  compre- 
hend the  fact  that  while  there  are  new  presenta- 
tions of  truths,  the  truths  based  on  principles  are 
eternal  factors  of  nature,  and  are  taught  over 
and  over  again  by  different  philosophers,  differ- 
ent nations,  and  different  ages.  What  one  age 
forgets  another  revives.  Origen  believed  in 
sacred  oracles,  that  is,  in  the  guidance  and  com- 
mands of  God  to  man,  under  certain  conditions. 
With  that  truth  he  maintained  that  the  sacred 
oracles  of  the  Christian's  God  embraced  all  the 
ideals  of  antiquity.  In  his  exegesis  of  the  scrip- 
tures he  compared  the  teachings  of  the  Christians 
with  that  of  Plato,  Aristotle,  Numenius,  and  cor- 
roborated all  the  Christian  dogmas  by  them. 

EUSEBIUS  C^SARA 

Eusebius    Csesara    was    the    most    voluminous 
writer  among  the  Christian  fathers ;  it  is  said  he 


ANCIENT  LEARNING  41 

wrote  no  less  than  six  thousand  books.  If  the 
number  approximates  the  truth,  the  size  of  the 
volumes  must  have  been  exceedingly  small;  how- 
ever it  may  be,  he  is  accredited  as  a  standard 
authority  among  all  Christian  nations.  He  was 
bom  about  the  year  270  A.  D.  He  held  the 
confidence  of  Saint  Augustine,  and  had  the  dis- 
tinguished honor  of  a  seat  on  the  right  hand  of 
the  emperor  during  the  sitting  of  the  council 
of  Nice.  It  was  he  who  drew  up  the  Nicene 
creed,  which  was  accepted,  with  some  additions, 
by  that  council.  He  was  a  warm  friend  of 
Arius,  and  did  what  he  could,  though  in  vain,  to 
harmonize  the  opinions  of  the  Arian  sect  of 
Christians  with  that  of  the  Alexandrians. 

Eusebius  maintained  that  the  law  of  Moses  had 
only  a  local  character  and  was  not  intended  for  a 
universal  religion,  and  gave  examples  in  proof  of 
his  opinion,  reciting  the  34th  chapter  of  Exodus 
and  especially  the  23rd  verse :  "  Thrice  in  the 
year  shall  all  your  men  children  appear  before 
the  Lord  God,  the  God  of  Israel."  He  agreed 
with  the  old  pagan  philosophers  as  to  the  being 
of  God,  who,  he  says,  "  is  the  primal  substance, 
exalted  in  his  supreme  essence  above  all  plurality. 
He  is  a  Being  absolutely." 

JEROME 

Jerome  is,  next  to  Origen,  the  most  learned 
student  of  the  Bible  among  the  Latin  ecclesi- 
astical   writers.     He    was    the    only    one    of    the 


42     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

Christian  scholars,  previous  to  modem  times,  able 
to  read  the  Bible  in  the  original  Hebrew.  He  is 
supposed  to  have  been  born  A.  D.  337  and  died 
about  420.  He  was  a  native  of  Bornia  Stridon 
Dalmatia.  He  led  the  life  of  a  hermit  in  a 
Syrian  desert.  In  studying  the  Bible  he  em- 
ployed symbolisms,  allegories,  and  mysticisms. 
He  held  that  there  are  secret  meanings  to  divine 
things  in  the  Bible  that  can  only  be  understood 
by  those  learned  in  them,  and  that  they  are  not 
intended  for  the  masses  or  unlearned, —  in  other 
words,  that  the  Bible  is  but  a  ritual  interwoven 
with  historical  incidents,  in  which  the  deepest 
science  of  life  and  knowledge  of  God  are  found. 
Philo,  the  great  Jewish  historian,  maintains  the 
same  opinion. 

CLEMENT 

Clement  was  one  of  the  Christian  fathers,  a 
contemporary  worker  with  Paul.  He  was  not 
only  a  great  writer  but  a  great  thinker  as  well. 
He  regarded  Christianity  as  a  philosophy  start- 
ing back  in  the  pagan  ages  of  the  world,  and 
gradually  growing  up  to  the  final  culmination  of 
truth  manifested  in  the  life  and  teaching  of 
Jesus.  It  was  the  laudable  aim  of  the  ancient 
philosophers  to  attain  to  a  higher,  holier,  and 
more  perfect  life,  which  was  also  the  aim  of 
Christianity,  with  this  difference:  the  Greek 
philosophers  had  onl^^  glimpses  of  truth,  only  a 
conception   of  Divine   perfection,   while   absolute 


ANCIENT  LEARNING  43 

and  perfect  spiritual  truth  was  revealed  in 
Christ. 

Clement  taught  that  the  care  of  God  was  not 
confined  to  the  Hebrews  alone,  but  that  all  the 
stages  of  man's  development,  from  the  earliest 
up,  led  to  the  full  revelation  of  God's  will.  The 
worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  he  maintained, 
was  necessary  to  raise  the  minds  of  men  to  the 
sublime  contemplation  and  adoration  of  the  Cre- 
ator. He  held  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  in  high 
esteem.  Plato's  best  thoughts,  he  said,  were 
taken  from  the  Hebrew  prophets.  He  taught 
that  Jesus  was  logos  and  absolute  reason. 

Clement  believed  in  a  personal  God,  apart  from 
the  universe,  and  that  the  reason  of  God  cul- 
minated in  the  personal  son,  Jesus.  His  theory 
of  salvation  was  that  it  began  with  faith,  passed 
from  faith  into  love,  and  ended  in  full  and  com- 
plete knowledge.  He  believed  in  the  eternal  ex- 
istence of  Christ,  that  He  instructed  men  before 
He  came  into  the  world  as  a  physical  being,  and 
that  heathenism  was  used  as  an  instrument  to  lead 
men  into  a  higher  conception  of  the  Divine. 

It  is  supposed  that  Clement  is  the  same  man 
whom  Paul  mentions  in  the  fourth  chapter  of  his 
Epistles  to  the  Philippians :  "  And  I  entreat 
thee  also,  true  yoke-fellow,  help  these  women 
which  labored  with  me  in  the  gospel,  with 
Clement  also,  and  with  other  my  fellow  laborers, 
whose  names  are  in  the  book  of  life." 


II 

BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS 

There  is  a  growing  tendency  among  the  people 
of  this  age  to  relegate  the  Bible  to  the  rubbish- 
basket  of  literature,  and  to  esteem  it  only  a  relic 
of  ignorant  ages  and  unworthy  of  the  credence 
heretofore  given  it.  Where  it  was  once  held  and 
reverenced  as  a  sacred  volume  containing  the 
word  and  will  of  God,  it  is  now  criticized  by  the 
skeptic  and  unhallowed  by  a  large  body  of  the 
people.  Ministers  give  tacit  coloring  to  these 
views  through  their  inability  to  reconcile  its  con- 
tents with  the  known  truths  of  to-day,  and  if  this 
tendency  is  not  averted  reverence  for  the  Bible 
among  the  people  will  be  lost. 

I  have  been  a  student  of  the  Bible  for  many 
years,  as  well  as  a  student  of  theolog}',  a  free- 
thought  investigator,  a  skeptic,  an  atheist,  a  dis- 
believer, but  living  always  with  the  one  prayer 
in  my  soul,  "  Give  me  Light  and  give  me  Knowl- 
edge." With  that  prayer  in  my  heart,  with 
honesty  of  purpose  in  my  soul,  my  mind  has  been 
opened  to  this  one  thought,  and  as  I  once  asked 
the  thinking  world  to  take  the  Bible  from  the 
family  altar,  keep  it  from  the  schools,  deny  it  a 
place  in  polite  literature,  hurl  it  back  as  a  libel 

44< 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS      45 

on  the  intelligence  of  God,  now  my  admonition  is : 
Seek  to  understand  the  Bible, —  and  when  you 
do  you  will  cherish  and  love  it. 

The  great  hindrance  to  a  general  acceptance 
of  the  Bible  is  owing  to  two  facts:  Christian 
people  claim  too  much  for  it,  and  the  skeptics  too 
little.  Neither  understands  it,  nor  presents  it  to 
the  minds  of  the  people  in  its  true  light.  It  was 
written  for  an  entirely  different  purpose  from 
that  which  has  been  explained  to  the  people  since 
the  days  of  the  Apostles. 

The  people  of  the  world  are  only  half  edu- 
cated. They  are  only  half  born,  and  have  only 
half  lived  for  two  thousand  years.  They  have 
lived  and  been  educated  only  in  the  physical, 
never  dreaming  that  underneath  the  physical  sci- 
ences of  this  world  lies  a  deeper  and  grander 
science,  of  which  they  are  as  ignorant  as  were 
the  masses  of  humanity  of  physical  science  dur- 
ing the  thousand  years  of  midnight  darkness 
commencing  with  Constantine. 

There  is  a  psychic  science  as  well  as  a  physical 
science  of  life.  The  Bible  does  not  pretend  to 
treat  of  physical  sciences,  but  it  does  treat  of  the 
psychic  science  of  life,  and  when  we  understand 
its  spiritual  teaching  we  will  learn  to  appreciate 
and  love  it.  The  advocates  of  the  Bible  have 
endeavored  for  two  thousand  years  to  enforce  a 
belief  in  their  interpretation  of  it  which  stulti- 
fied the  dictates  of  common  sense ;  hence,  infidelity 
has  been  rife  among  the  people  for  all  that  time. 


46     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

which  nothing,  even  imprisonment,  fagot,  and 
flame,  could  suppress. 

Jesus  was  the  expression  of  the  Divine  Will, 
and  in  tracing  that  Will  we  go  back  to  the  cradle 
of  our  civilization  and  learning  among  the  Chal- 
deans. The  word  Chaldea  was  first  applied  as 
a  title  to  learned  men  congregated  in  and  about 
Ninevah.  They  studiously  applied  themselves  to 
the  development  of  the  truths  of  nature  among 
the  people,  the  science  of  civil  government  and 
society.  They  were  great  astronomers,  astrolo- 
gists,  and  mathematicians.  They  calculated  the 
length  of  the  sidereal  year  and  reckoned  it  to 
embrace  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days  and 
six  hours,  while  the  true  time,  as  now  under- 
stood, is  only  nine  minutes  and  ten  seconds  longer 
than  the  Chaldean  time. 

They  mapped  out  the  twelve  constellations  of 
the  stars  known  as  the  signs  of  the  Zodiac,  and 
named  them  according  to  their  apparent  or  sup- 
posed influence  on  the  lives  of  men,  on  their 
physical  and  intellectual  endowments,  and  on 
vegetation  and  climatic  conditions.  Thus  the 
cluster  of  stars  through  which  the  sun  seemed  to 
pass  in  spring  was  called  Aries,  or  the  Ram. 
Leo,  the  Lion,  was  considered  symbolical  of 
the  strong  rays  of  the  midsummer  sun ;  Scorpio, 
the  Scorpion,  of  the  unhealthy  autumn,  and 
so  on. 

The  investigation  of  the  influences  of  these 
signs  gave  rise  to  the  science  of  Astrolog}^,  the 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS   47 

true  import  of  which  is  lost  to  us,  and  hence  we 
call  it  pseudo-science,  or  false  conceptions  of  the 
ancients  concerning  the  influence  of  the  stars  on 
our  earth,  which  might,  after  all,  be  of  greater 
concern  than  we  at  present  imagine.  They  had 
a  true  conception  of  the  solar  and  lunar  eclipses. 
Callisthenes,  a  Grecian  scholar,  who  accompanied 
Alexander  in  one  of  his  expeditions  into  the  val- 
ley of  the  Euphrates,  sent  from  Babylon  a  series 
of  astronomical  tables  found  at  Babylon  that  date 
back  two  thousand  and  thirty-four  years  before 
the  birth  of  Christ  and  over  four  hundred  years 
before  the  birth  of  Abraham.  From  those  ta- 
bles and  their  cuneiform  records  it  is  ascertained 
that  they  have  the  regular  eclipses  of  the  moon 
accurately  placed  at  18  years  and  11  days,  223 
lunar  months,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  the 
moon  again  enters  upon  its  former  path  in  the 
heavens,  in  consequence  of  which  the  same 
eclipses  are  repeated.  They  computed  the 
synodic  and  periodic  months  so  accurately  that 
modern  astronomers  find  a  variance  of  only  five 
seconds  of  time.  They  divided  the  Zodiac  into 
twelve  signs  and  each  of  these  signs  into  thirty 
degrees.  They  also  divided  the  years  into 
twelve  months,  each  month  into  thirty  days,  days 
into  hours,  and  hours  into  minutes. 

So  far  as  history  informs  us,  the  Chaldeans 
established  the  first  monarchial  form  of  govern- 
ment. They  left  behind  them  the  decimal  and 
duodecimal     systems     of     notation.     They     also 


48     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

understood  the  sciences  of  architecture  and  hy- 
draulics to  a  degree  that  made  the  valley  of  the 
Euphrates  bloom  as  a  rose.  Learning  became 
so  general  among  the  people  that  in  time  the 
whole  nation  was  called  Chaldean. 

The  Chaldean  religion  was  a  mixture  of  Spir- 
itualism (for  they  believed  in  a  future  life  of 
spirit  existence  and  the  communication  of  spirits 
with  mankind),  Polytheism,  and  Sabianism. 
They  deified  their  great  men  after  death  and 
worshipped  them  as  gods,  of  which  there  were 
many.  They  believed  that  their  gods  presided 
over  the  elements  of  nature. 

Berosus,  a  priest  of  the  temple  of  Belus, 
wrote  a  history  of  Chaldea  276  years  before 
Christ,  and  in  that  history  he  gave  a  description 
of  the  flood,  which  in  all  probability  he  obtained 
from  the  cuneiform  writings  of  that  people.  In 
his  description  he  says,  "  The  god  Bel  appeared 
to  Xisuthrus  in  a  dream  and  warned  him  that  on 
the  fifteenth  day  of  the  month  Daesius  mankind 
would  be  destroyed  by  a  deluge.  He  bade  him 
bury  in  Sippara,  the  city  of  the  sun,  the  extant 
writings,  first  and  last,  and  build  a  ship  and  enter 
therein  with  his  family  and  his  close  friends  and 
furnish  it  with  meat  and  drink,  and  place  on 
board  winged  fowl  and  four-footed  beasts  of  the 
earth,  and  when  all  was  ready,  set  sail.  Xisuth- 
rus asked  whither  he  was  to  sail,  and  was  told, 
'  To  the  gods,  with  a  prayer  that  it  might  fare 
well  with  mankind.' 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS      49 

"  Then  Xisuthrus  was  not  disobedient  to  the 
vision,  but  built  a  ship  fifteen  stadia  (3125  feet) 
in  length  and  six  stadia  (1250  feet)  in  breadth, 
and  collected  all  that  had  been  commanded  him, 
and  put  his  wife  and  children  and  close  friends 
on  board.  The  flood  came,  and  as  soon  as  it 
ceased  Xisuthinis  let  loose  some  birds  which,  find- 
ing neither  food  nor  a  place  where  thej  could 
rest,  came  back  to  the  ark.  After  some  days  he 
again  sent  out  the  birds,  which  again  returned  to 
the  ark,  but  with  feet  covered  with  mud.  Sent 
out  the  third  time,  the  birds  returned  no  more, 
and  Xisuthrus  knew  that  land  had  reappeared ;  so 
he  removed  some  of  the  covering  of  the  ark  and 
looked,  and  behold,  the  vessel  had  grounded  on 
a  mountain.  Then  Xisthurus  went  forth  with 
his  wife  and  his  daughter  and  his  pilot,  and  fell 
down  and  worshipped  the  earth  and  built  an  altar 
and  offered  sacrifice  to  the  gods,  after  which  he 
disappeared  from  sight,  together  with  those  who 
had  accompanied  him. 

"  They  who  had  remained  in  the  ark  and  not 
gone  forth  with  Xisuthrus  now  left  it  and 
searched  for  him  and  shouted  out  his  name,  but 
Xisuthrus  was  not  seen  any  more,  only  his  voice 
answered  them  out  of  the  air,  saying,  '  Worship 
the  gods,  for  because  I  worshipped  them  am  I 
gone  to  dwell  with  the  gods,  and  they  who  were 
with  me  have  shared  the  same  honor,'  And  he 
bade  them  return  to  Bab3''lon  and  recover  the 
writings  buried  at  Sippara  and  make  them  known 


50      LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

among  men,  and  he  told  him  that  the  land  in 
which  they  then  were  was  Armenia.  So  they, 
when  they  had  heard  all,  sacrificed  to  the  gods 
and  went  their  way  on  foot  to  Babylon,  and  hav- 
ing reached  it,  recovered  the  buried  writings 
from  Sippara  and  built  many  cities  and  temples 
and  restored  Babylon.  Some  portion  of  the  ark 
still  remains  in  Armenia,  in  the  Gordaen  (Kur- 
dish) mountains;  and  persons  scrape  off  the 
bitumen  from  it  to  bring  away  and  this  day  use 
as  a  remedy  to  avert  misfortunes." 

George  Smith,  in  the  year  1875,  obtained  some 
clay  tablets  from  ruins  in  Assyria  which,  when 
joined  to  other  fragments  in  the  British  Museum 
at  London,  gave  the  Assyrian  history  of  the 
world  from  the  creation  down  to  some  time  after 
the  fall  of  man.  In  the  history  of  the  flood 
there  are  many  striking  resemblances  to  the  Chal- 
dean account  as  given  by  Berosus.  Let  it  be 
remembered  that  the  burnt  clay  books,  or  cunei- 
form records  burned  in  wedge-shaped  bricks,  of 
Chaldea  antedate  all  other  known  records  or 
writings,  except  that  perhaps  they  may  be  coeval 
with  the  rolls  of  papyrus  found  in  Egyptian 
tombs  and  the  inscriptions  on  Egyptian  monu- 
ments. All  of  those  writings  were  prior  to  the 
Mosaic  account  of  the  creation  and  the  fall  of 
man.  According  to  the  Biblical  account, 
tongues  were  confounded  at  the  tower  of  Babel 
in  the  year  2244  B.  C,  and  Moses  came  on  the 
stage  of  action  1531  B.  C,  over  seven  hundred 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS      51 

jears  after  the  confusion  of  the  tongues.  Let 
it  also  be  remembered  that  Babylon  came  up  as 
a  city  long  after  Ninevah,  the  capital  of  the 
Chaldean  government,  had  grown  into  beauty 
and  greatness.  The  different  narratives  of  the 
flood  as  recounted  by  nations  of  the  low-lands 
are  so  similar  that  it  is  evident  that  some  of  them 
were  borrowed  from  older  traditions. 

The  Assyrian  account  of  the  flood  is  here 
given. 

El,  or  II,  is  the  root  of  the  well-known  Biblical 
Elohim,  the  God.  Bab-Il,  Babylon,  was  the 
gate  of  God.  El  became  angered  at  the  wicked- 
ness of  the  world  and  he  sent  a  great  flood  and 
destroyed  the  whole  human  race,  save  Sisit,  who 
was  thus  commanded :  *'  When  the  flood  comes 
which  I  shall  send,  thou  shalt  enter  the  ship,  and 
into  the  midst  of  it  thou  shalt  bring  thy  com, 
thy  goods,  thy  gods,  thy  gold  and  silver,  thy 
slaves,  male  and  female,  the  sons  of  thy  army, 
the  wild  and  tame  animals,  and  all  that  thou 
hearest  thou  shalt  do." 

And  Sisit  gathered  together  all  his  possessions 
of  silver  and  gold,  all  that  he  had  of  the  seeds 
of  life,  and  caused  all  his  slaves,  male  and  female, 
to  go  into  the  ship.  The  wild  and  tame  beasts  of 
the  field  also  he  caused  to  enter,  and  all  the  sons 
of  the  army ;  and  Shamas,  the  sun-god,  made  a 
flood  and  said,  "  I  will  cause  rain  to  fall  heavily 
from  heaven;  go  into  the  ship  and  shut  the 
door." 


52     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

Overcome  with  fear,  Sisit  entered  the  ship,  and 
on  the  morning  of  the  day  fixed  by  Shamas  the 
storm  began  to  blow  from  the  ends  of  heaven, 
and  Vul  thundered  into  the  midst  of  heaven,  and 
Nebe  came  forth,  and  over  the  mountains  and 
plains  came  the  gods,  and  Nurgal  the  Destroyer 
overthrew,  and  Nin  came  forth  and  dashed  down ; 
the  gods  made  ruin ;  in  their  brightness  they 
swept  over  the  earth.  The  storm  went  over  the 
nations,  the  flood  of  Vul  reached  up  to  heaven ; 
brother  did  not  see  brother;  the  lightsome  earth 
became  a  desert,  and  the  flood  destroyed  all  liv- 
ing things  from  the  face  of  the  earth.  Even  the 
gods  were  afraid  of  the  storm  and  sought  refuge 
in  the  heaven  of  Ana,  like  hounds  drawing  in 
their  tails. 

The  gods  seated  themselves  on  the  thrones,  and 
Ishtar,  the  great  goddess,  spake :  "  The  world 
has  turned  to  sin,  and  therefore  I  have  proclaimed 
destruction.  I  have  begotten  men  and  now  they 
fill  the  sea  like  children  of  fishes."  And  the 
gods  upon  their  seats  wept  with  her. 

On  the  seventh  day  the  storm  abated,  which 
had  destroyed  like  an  earthquake,  and  the  sea 
began  to  dry.  Sisit  perceived  the  movement  of 
the  sea.  Like  reeds  floated  the  corpses  of  the 
evil-doers  and  all  who  had  turned  to  sin.  Then 
Sisit  opened  the  window  and  the  light  fell  upon 
his  face,  and  the  ship  was  stayed  upon  mount 
Nizir  and  could  not  pass  over  it.  Then  on  the 
seventh    day    Sisit    sent    forth    a   dove,    but    she 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS      53 

found  no  place  to  rest  and  she  returned.  Then 
he  sent  a  swallow,  which  also  returned,  and  again 
a  raven,  which  saw  the  corpses  in  the  water  and 
ate  them  and  returned  no  more. 

Then  Sisit  released  the  beasts  to  the  four 
winds  of  heaven  and  poured  a  libation  and  built 
an  altar  on  the  top  of  the  mountain  and  cut  seven 
herbs,  and  the  sweet  savor  of  the  sacrifice  caused 
the  gods  to  assemble,  and  Sisit  prayed  that  Bel 
might  not  come  to  the  altar.  For  Bel  had  made 
the  storm  and  sunk  the  people  in  the  deep  and 
wished  in  his  anger  to  destroy  the  ship  and  allow 
no  man  to  escape. 

Nin  opened  his  mouth  and  spoke  to  the  war- 
rior Bel:  "Who  would  be  left?"  And  Hea 
spoke  to  him :  "  Captain  of  the  gods,  instead 
of  the  storm  let  lions  and  leopards  increase  and 
diminish  mankind;  let  famine  and  pestilence  deso- 
late the  land  and  destroy  mankind."  When  the 
sentence  of  the  gods  was  passed,  Bel  came  into 
the  midst  of  the  ship  and  took  Sisit  by  the  hand 
and  conducted  him  forth,  and  caused  his  wife 
to  be  brought  to  his  side;  and  he  purified  the 
earth  and  made  a  covenant ;  and  Sisit  and  his 
wife  and  his  people  were  carried  away  like  gods, 
and  Sisit  dwelt  in  a  distant  land  at  the  mouth  of 
the  rivers. 

The  account  of  the  deluge  as  given  by  Moses 
is  a  record  of  the  same  story  as  given  by  Berosus 
and  as  found  inscribed  on  the  Assyrian  tablets. 
The  story   of  the  tower  of  Babel,  as   given  by 


54     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

Berosus,  is  very  much  like  that  given  by  Moses. 
The  Chaldean  tradition  is  this :  "  The  earth  was 
still  of  one  language  when  the  primitive  men,  who 
were  proud  of  their  strength  and  stature  and 
despised  the  gods  as  their  inferiors,  erected  a 
tower  of  vast  height,  in  order  that  they  might 
mount  to  heaven.  And  the  tower  was  now  near 
to  heaven,  when  the  gods  caused  the  wind  to 
blow  and  overturn  the  structure  upon  the  men, 
and  made  them  speak  with  divers  tongues,  where- 
upon the  city  was  called  Babylon." 

Some  of  the  gods  were  the  same  also.  For 
instance.  El,  or  II,  their  chief  god,  is  the  root  of 
Elohim,  one  of  the  Biblical  gods.  El  was  the 
god  of  heaven,  the  prince  of  the  gods,  and  had 
the  protective  care  of  the  Babylonian  temple. 
Nimrod  was  deified  after  his  death  and  was  named 
Bel-Nimrod.  The  gods  of  the  Chaldeans  were 
classified;  so  were  the  gods  of  the  Hebrews,  for 
when  Melchizedek  went  out  to  meet  Abraham  on 
his  return  from  the  defeat  of  the  five  kings,  he 
was  known  as  "  priest  of  the  most  high  God." 

El,  or  II,  or  Ra,  was  the  most  high  God  of  the 
Chaldean  pantheon,  after  which  the  gods  were 
divided  into  groups  or  triads.  Below  these 
triads  were  many  inferior  gods,  who  were  under 
the  supervision  of  their  superiors.  Among  the 
gods  was  a  group  of  five  representing  the  five 
planets  then  known, —  Nin  or  Ninip  (Saturn), 
Merodach  (Jupiter),  Nergal  (Mars),  Ishtar 
(Venus),  Nebo  (Murcury).     After  the  principal 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS      55 

deities  were  numerous  divinities  of  the  second 
and  third  orders. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  enumerate  the  different 
gods  and  divinities  of  the  Chaldeans.  It  is  our 
purpose  only  to  show  the  connection  of  the  tra- 
ditions, beliefs,  and  religion  of  that  people  with 
that  of  the  Hebrews,  and  if  the  analogy  proves 
that  the  Jewish  religion  is  to  some  extent  a 
derivative  religion,  it  makes  it  neither  any  bet- 
ter nor  any  worse.  The  time  is  past  when  we 
can  strangle  facts  for  a  purpose.  We  can  now 
afford  to  tell  the  truth  even  in  religion,  and  the 
truth,  properly  presented,  raises  the  mission,  life, 
and  character  of  Jesus  the  Christ  to  a  more  Di- 
vine and  exalted  sphere  than  he  has  heretofore 
occupied,  and  the  millions  who  now  scoff  at  the 
name  will  be  brought  to  the  adoration  of  this 
man  as  the  expression  of  a  Divine  Will.  We 
must  not  ignore  the  fact  that  we  are  creatures  of 
a  superior  intelligence  and  subordinate  to  a 
power  that  wills  and  rules,  and  to  which  man  suc- 
cumbs. That  man  or  that  community  of  men, 
even  of  nations,  which  violates  the  laws  of  God, 
or,  if  yqu  so  please  to  call  them,  the  laws  of 
nature,  for  the  name  makes  no  difference,  will 
be  punished  to  the  extent  of  the  violation  ;  and 
that  man  or  community  will  suffer  and  that 
nation  go  into  decadence,  as  illustrated  by  in- 
numerable examples. 

Do  not  misunderstand  these  assertions.  Do 
not  infer  therefrom  that  God  punishes  you,  or  the 


56     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

community,  or  the  nation.  God  punishes  no  one, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  the  laws  of  God  are  self- 
assertive,  and  if  man  violates  one  of  His  laws  the 
law  itself  inflicts  the  punishment,  and  not  God. 
Thus,  thrust  your  hand  into  the  fire ;  by  so  doing 
you  violate  a  law  of  God,  and  you  are  burned. 
Expose  yourself  to  the  inclement  weather,  and 
the  result  is  pain,  punishment,  and  oftentimes 
sickness  and  death.  God  does  not  cause  the  in- 
fliction, but  you  have  violated  one  of  the  laws 
of  your  being  and  inflictions  follow.  The  same 
rule  applies  to  the  moral,  intellectual,  and  spir- 
itual nature  of  man.  Abuse  your  brain  by  dis- 
sipation, neglect  of  culture,  or  in  any  other  way, 
and  you  will  be  shut  out  from  that  intellectual 
exhilaration  that  enriches  the  soul.  Debauch 
your  moral  nature,  and  you  walk  the  earth  with 
the  evidences  of  your  degradation  so  plainly 
written  that  the  dullest  observer  can  read  your 
character.  Violate  the  laws  of  your  spiritual 
nature,  and  your  life  is  a  corrupted  soul  in  this 
sphere  of  existence,  and  in  the  next  a  pitiable 
shadow  wandering  in  the  gloom  of  its  own  shroud 
of  darkness.  All  of  these  inflictions  are  of  your 
own  choosing ;  you  have  violated  law,  and  the 
law  punishes. 

Now  the  laws  of  man  are  diff^erent  from  the 
laws  of  God.  You  may  violate  every  law  on 
the  statute  books  and  they  lie  quiescent  under 
your  revelry  until  the  officers  of  justice  find  you 
out  and  bring  punishment  on  you  according  to 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS      57 

the  terms  of  the  statute.  If  you  are  not 
found  out,  you  can  go  on  for  a  lifetime  with 
no  statutory  punishment  inflicted ;  but  you  can 
neither  hide  nor  evade  an  infraction  of  a  law 
of  nature,  for  the  law  is  its  own  avenger  and 
rewarder  of  man's  conduct.  Therefore  elimin- 
ate from  your  mind,  in  studying  the  genius  and 
life  of  Jesus,  that  God  in  His  anger  punishes  any 
man  or  set  of  men,  any  community  or  nation. 
Yet  they  are  all  punished  according  to  their 
deeds. 

The  belief  that  God  punishes  and  rewards  in 
this  sphere  of  life  has  grown  out  of  the  change 
in  the  meaning  of  words  and  terms.  The  word 
god  is  now  quite  different  in  meaning  from  that 
of  ancient  times.  Now  the  name  of  God  is  ap- 
plied to  the  ruler  of  the  universe,  the  all-wise 
Creator.  In  ancient  times  the  word  god  meant 
certain  apotheosized  spirits  of  dead  men ;  thus, 
Nimrod  was  after  his  death  apotheosized  into  the 
rank  of  a  god. 

The  ceremony  of  apotheosis  was  very  imposing 
and  was  as  follows:  The  body  of  the  person 
about  to  be  made  a  god  was  first  cremated  and  the 
ashes  preserved  in  a  vase.  At  the  entrance  of 
the  palace  or  temple,  upon  a  magnificent  carpet, 
a  wax  figure  of  the  body  was  extended  on  an 
ivory  couch  spread  with  a  cloth  of  gold.  The 
high  officials,  clad  in  black,  sat  on  the  left  side 
of  the  couch,  and  on  the  right,  noble  women 
dressed    as    mourners    in    plain    white    garments. 


58     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

After  seven  days'  watching  he  was  pronounced 
dead.  Then  the  noble  youths  of  the  equestrian 
order  took  up  the  couch  and  bore  it  to  the  forum ; 
it  was  there  placed  between  two  amphitheaters, 
and  on  either  side  a  chorus  of  noble  men  and 
women  chanted  In  mournful  strains  hymns  In 
praise  of  the  deceased.  The  couch  was  then  car- 
ried through  the  city  to  the  Campus  Martins,  in 
the  midst  of  which  was  constructed  a  square  pile 
filled  with  combustibles,  and  adorned  on  the  out- 
side with  hangings  interwoven  with  gold  and  with 
various  Images  and  pictures.  The  couch  was 
placed  In  the  center  of  the  pile  and  around  It  was 
collected  every  kind  of  incense  and  fragrant  herb, 
fruits,  a  juice  for  all  nations  and  peoples.  After 
this  a  procession  of  horsemen  and  chariots  passed 
around  the  pile,  with  drivers  dressed  to  represent 
the  greatest  generals  and  Illustrious  ancestors  of 
the  deceased.  The  head  man  of  state  then  ap^ 
proached  the  catafalque  with  a  torch  in  hand  and 
set  It  on  fire ;  if  the  deceased  was  a  man,  an  eagle 
was  let  loose  from  the  top  story ;  If  a  Avoman,  a 
peacock  was  let  go  and,  rising  in  mid-air  with  the 
flames,  bore  to  the  skies  the  soul  of  the  dead  one. 
The  deceased  was  then  given  the  name  of  divus 
and  also  the  name  of  some  divinity. 

ABRAHAM 

Let  us  now  turn  to  those  who  sowed  the  seed 
which  ripened  in  the  fruit  of  the  Cross.     First 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS   59 

and  most  prominent  of  these  was  Abram,  whose 
name  was  afterwards  changed  to  Abraham. 

Abraham  was  a  Chaldean  of  the  city  of  Ur. 
He  was  a  great  man,  with  a  towering  intellect  and 
grand  personal  endowments,  well  educated,  and 
fitted  for  the  task  of  starting  a  new  religious  cult. 
He  must  have  been  a  man  of  pleasing  address  and 
immense  personal  influence,  or  he  could  not  have 
accomplished  what  he  did  in  the  planting  of  his 
colony  in  the  land  of  Canaan  and  in  making  it 
the  seat  of  a  great  religion. 

According  to  Josephus,  Abraham  was  of  the 
tenth  generation  from  Noah.  He  was  a  great- 
great  grandson  of  Heber,  from  whom  the  Hebrews 
derived  their  name,  although  often  called  Jews  be- 
cause they  inhabited  Judea.  Berosus,  the  Greek 
historian,  in  speaking  of  Abraham,  says :  "  In 
the  tenth  generation  after  the  flood  there  was 
among  the  Chaldeans  a  man  religious  and  great, 
and  skilled  in  the  celestial  science,"  in  other  words, 
an  astronomer  and  astrologer. 

Concerning  his  character,  Josephus  says :  *'  He 
was  a  person  of  great  sagacity  both  for  under- 
standing all  things  and  persuading  his  hearers, 
and  not  mistaken  in  his  opinions,  for  which  reason 
he  began  to  have  higher  notions  of  virtue  than 
others  and  determined  to  renew  and  to  change  the 
opinions  all  men  happened  then  to  have  concern- 
ing God;  for  he  was  the  first  that  ventured  to 
publish  this  notion,  that  there  was  but  one  God, 
the  Creator  of  the  universe ;  and  as  to  other  gods, 


60     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

if  thej  contributed  anything  to  the  happiness  of 
men,  each  of  them  afforded  it  only  according  to 
his  appointment,  not  by  his  own  power." 

This  opinion  of  his  was  derived  from  the  ir- 
regular phenomena  that  were  visible  both  at  land 
and  sea,  as  well  as  from  those  that  happened  in 
connection  with  the  sun  and  moon  and  all  the 
heavenly  bodies.  "  If,"  said  he,  "  those  bodies 
had  power  of  their  own,  they  would  certainly  take 
care  of  their  own  regular  motions ;  but  since  they 
do  not  preserve  such  regularity,  they  make  it 
plain  that  so  far  as  they  co-operate  to  our  ad- 
vantage they  do  it  not  of  their  own  abilities  but 
as  subservient  to  Him  that  commands  them,  to 
whom  we  ought  justly  to  offer  our  honor  and 
thanksgiving." 

This  new  religious  opinion  fired  up  the  Chal- 
deans and  other  people  of  Mesopotamia  against 
him,  and  they  became  so  tumultuous  that  he  re- 
solved to  leave  the  country  and  take  his  followers 
with  him  to  a  new  land  to  which  he  had  been  di- 
rected by  his  guardian  spirit,  which  he  called  God. 

The  experience  of  Abraham  is  the  experience 
of  all  refonncrs.  Ignorance  and  Superstition 
rise  against  them,  as  they  did  against  Jesus, 
who  suffered  and  bled  on  the  cross  for  simply 
telling  the  people  that  there  was  a  life  beyond 
this,  and  that  they  could  onlj'  enjoy  the  full 
fruition  of  that  life  by  living  an  exemplary  one 
here.  His  followers  were  numerous,  reaching  the 
proportions  of  an  army. 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS     61 

Nicholas  of  Damascus,  in  the  fourth  book  of 
his  history,  saj^s,  according  to  Josephus,  "  Abram 
reigned  at  Damascus,  being  a  foreigner  who  came 
with  an  army  out  of  the  land  above  Babylon,  called 
the  land  of  Chaldea.  But  after  a  long  time 
he  got  him  up  and  removed  from  that  country 
also  with  his  people  and  went  into  the  land  then 
called  the  land  of  Canaan,  but  now  the  land  of 
Judea.  Now  the  name  of  Abram  is  even  still 
famous  in  the  country  of  Damascus,  and  there  is 
shown  a  village  named  from  him,  The  Habitation 
of  Abram." 

Abraham,  appreciating  the  fact  that  all  people 
are  naturally  religious,  that  they  look  to  a  source 
beyond  themselves  for  spiritual  consolation,  and 
knowing  that  the  Chaldeans,  Babylonians,  and  the 
nations  about  him  had  different  conceptions  of 
God  and  the  unseen  forces,  felt  that  the  time  was 
propitious  for  starting  a  new  religion  and  unify- 
ing the  thoughts  of  the  people  on  that  subject, 
desiring  thereby  to  form  a  permanent  organiza- 
tion, one  that  would  stand  the  test  of  ages.  Be- 
ing well  versed  in  Chaldean  and  Babylonian  phi- 
losophy, he  concluded  to  make  further  researches 
into  the  beliefs  of  man  and  bethought  himself  to 
go  to  Egypt  and  consult  with  the  priests  and  men 
of  culture  of  that  nation. 

Josephus  says :  "  Now  after  this,  when  a 
famine  had  invaded  the  land  of  Canaan  and 
Abram  had  discovered  that  the  Egyptians  were  in 
a  flourishing  condition,  he  was  disposed  to   go 


62      LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

down  to  them,  both  to  partake  of  the  plenty  they 
enjoyed  and  to  become  an  auditor  of  their  priests, 
and  to  know  what  they  said  concerning  the  gods, 
designing  either  to  follow  them,  if  they  had  better 
notions  than  he,  or  to  convert  them  into  a  better 
way,  if  his  own  notions  proved  the  truest." 

The  Bible  says,  "  And  there  was  famine  in  the 
land,  and  Abram  went  down  into  Egypt  to  so- 
journ there,  for  the  famine  was  grievous  in  the 
land."  Josephus,  confirming  the  Bible  narrative, 
goes  on  to  say :  "  Now  seeing  that  he  was  to 
take  Sarah  with  him  and  was  afraid  of  the  Egypt- 
ians with  regard  to  the  woman,  lest  the  king 
should  kill  him  because  of  his  wife's  great  beauty, 
he  contrived  this  device:  he  pretended  to  be  her 
brother  and  directed  her  in  a  dissembling  way  to 
pretend  the  same,  for  he  said  it  would  be  for  their 
benefit.  Now  as  soon  as  he  came  into  Egypt,  it 
happened  to  Abram  as  he  supposed  it  would,  for 
the  fame  of  his  wife's  beauty  was  greatly  talked 
of,  for  which  reason  Pharaoh,  the  king  of  Egypt, 
would  not  be  satisfied  with  what  was  reported  of 
her,  but  would  needs  see  her  himself,  and  was  pre- 
paring to  enjoy  her;  but  God  put  a  stop  to  his 
unjust  inclinations  by  sending  upon  him  a  dis- 
temper and  a  sedition  against  his  government. 
And  when  he  enquired  of  the  priests  how  he  might 
be  freed  from  these  calamities,  they  told  him  that 
this,  his  miserable  condition,  was  derived  from  the 
wrath  of  God  on  account  of  his  inclinations  to 
abuse  the  stranger's  wife.     He  then  out  of  fear 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS   63 

asked  Sarah  who  she  was  and  who  it  was  she 
brought  with  her?  And  when  he  had  found  out 
the  truth,  he  excused  himself  to  Abram  that,  sup- 
posing the  woman  to  be  his  sister  and  not  his  wife, 
he  set  his  affections  on  her  as  having  an  affinity 
with  him  by  marrying  her,  but  not  as  incited  by 
lust  to  abuse  her.  He  also  made  him  a  large 
present  in  money  and  gave  him  leave  to  enter  into 
conversation  with  the  most  learned  among  the 
Egyptians;  from  which  conversation  his  virtue 
and  his  reputation  became  more  conspicuous  than 
they  had  been  before. 

"  The  Egyptians  were  formerly  addicted  to  dif- 
ferent customs  and  despised  one  another's  sacred 
and  accustomed  rites  and  were  very  angry  with 
one  another  on  that  account.  Abram  conferred 
with  each  of  them,  and  confuting  the  reasoning 
they  made  use  of,  every  one  for  his  own  practices, 
he  demonstrated  that  such  reasonings  were  vain 
and  void  of  truth ;  whereupon  he  was  admitted  by 
them  in  those  conferences  as  a  very  wise  man,  and 
one  of  great  sagacit}'^,  when  he  discoursed  on  any 
subject  he  undertook,  in  not  only  understanding 
it  but  in  pursuading  other  men  also  to  assent  to 
him.  He  communicated  to  them  arithmetic,  and 
delivered  to  them  the  science  of  astronomy ;  for 
before  Abram  came  into  Egypt  they  were  unac- 
quainted with  those  parts  of  learning,  for  that 
science  came  from  the  Chaldeans  into  Egypt,  and 
from  thence  to  the  Greeks  also." 

How  long  Abram  remained  in  Egj'pt  we  cannot 


64     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

tell  as  we  are  not  informed  by,  either  the  Bible 
account  or  by  Josephus  on  that  point ;  but  it  must 
have  been  several  years,  from  the  fact  that  the 
learning  he  imparted  to  the  Egyptians  could  not 
have  been  given  short  of  that  time.  Four  hundred 
and  sixty-five  years  afterwards,  Moses,  an  Egyp- 
tian by  birth,  and  well  informed  in  Egyptian 
learning,  took  what  he  thought  was  good  of  the 
religion  of  the  Egyptians  and  engrafted  it  on  the 
Chaldean  doctrines  formerly  impressed  on  the 
Hebrews  by  the  founder  of  their  religion,  Abra- 
ham. 

We  know  that  this  is  true  from  the  fact  that 
within  the  last  half  century,  our  knowledge  of 
those  ancient  peoples  has  been  greatly  enlarged 
by  researches  in  the  ruins  of  the  nations  once  so 
richly  endowed  with  knowledge  of  the  arts  and 
sciences,  but  whose  energies  have  been  quieted, 
whose  monuments  despoiled  by  the  ruthless  hand 
of  Time,  and  whose  records,  written  on  wedge- 
shaped  brick,  have  slept  beneath  the  frowns  of 
eternal  sands  for  over  three  thousand  years.  For 
much  of  the  light  thrown  on  those  hidden  treas- 
ures of  ancient  thought,  learning,  and  actions  we 
are  indebted  to  the  English  historians.,  George 
Rawlinson  and  Philip  Smith,  and  the  renowned 
German  Orientalists,  Niebuhr  and  Buncker. 

The  Assyrian  clay  tablets  brought  to  London 
by  George  Smith  give  a  history  of  the  world  from 
the  beginning,  including  an  account  of  the  crea- 
tion, the  fall  of  man,  the  flood,  the  tower  of  Babel 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS   65 

and  confusion  of  tongues,  which  are  so  similar  to 
the  accounts  given  in  the  Bible  of  those  supposed 
events,  that  it  is  not  heresy  to  imagine  that  the 
original  narratives  were  burnt  in  the  brick  cunei- 
form writings  when  those  monuments  of  man's 
superstition  were  made,  and  that  they  were  made 
so  far  back  that  the  knowledge  of  man  is  lost  in 
the  bewilderments  of  Time. 

We  press  these  facts  on  the  minds  of  our  read- 
ers that  they  may  better  understand  the  philoso- 
phy of  events  which  induced  the  Magi,  or  wise 
men,  as  they  are  called  in  the  Bible,  to  follow  the 
light,  called  a  star,  to  where  the  young  Babe  lay 
in  the  lowly  manger.  To  better  understand  the 
true  teachings  of  Jesus,  we  wish  to  call  the  mind 
of  our  readers  to  the  fact  that  the  Egyptians  be- 
lieved in  a  future  life,  in  spirit  communion  and  in 
the  very  highest  type  of  morality.  The  same 
might  be  said  of  the  Chaldeans  though  their  rec- 
ords on  this  subject  are  not  so  convincing  in  ex- 
pression as  those  of  later  religions,  it  was  neces- 
sary for  them  to  personify  their  gods  to  make  the 
idea  comprehensible  to  the  uncultured  masses. 

The  same  difficulty  stands  in  the  way  of  an  en- 
lightened conception  of  God  in  this  generation,  to 
some  extent.  The  trouble  is,  the  masses  want  ob- 
ject lessons;  they  cannot  comprehend  principles 
without  falling  in  grace.  They  can  only  enthuse 
over  a  fervent  imagination  fed  on  mental  pictures 
addressed  to  their  senses.  They  cannot  compre- 
hend love  as  a  quality  of  nature,  nor  that  the  mind 


66     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OP  JESUS 

drinks  from  the  fountain  of  universal  wisdom. 
They  must  see  them  in  the  picture  of  some  person 
to  feel  the  effects  of  strong  emotions.  This  tend- 
ency of  the  human  mind  to  grasp  at  personal  ob- 
jects to  keep  the  fire  of  their  religious  zeal  to  the 
proper  standard  made  it  necessary  for  the  found- 
ers of  this  great  religion  to  write  it  out  with  a 
double  meaning, —  one  for  the  masses  and  one 
for  the  initiated. 

Abram  believed  in  one  individual  local  god  to 
whom  he  looked  for  advice,  guidance  and  succor. 
It  was  Abraham's  god  that  directed  him  to  aban- 
don the  city  of  Ur  and  go  into  the  land  of  Aaran. 
"  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Abram,  '  Get  thee  out 
of  thy  country,  and  from  thy  kindred,  and  from 
thy  father's  house  unto  a  land  that  I  will  show 
thee ;  and  I  will  make  of  thee  a  great  nation,  and 
I  will  bless  thee,  and  make  thy  name  great ;  and 
thou  shalt  be  a  blessing.'  And  I  will  bless  them 
that  bless  thee,  and  curse  him  that  curseth  thee, 
*  and  in  thee  shall  all  families  of  the  earth  be 
blessed.'  " 

It  was  here  that  the  foundation  of  the  Jewish 
theocracy  was  laid.  Abraham,  during  his  entire 
life  after  he  left  Chaldea,  was  under  the  direct 
guidance  of  his  controlling  god.  He  believed 
and  taught  that  God  administered  unto  man  in 
this  life  and  in  this  world.  "  I  will  bless  them 
that  bless  thee  and  curse  him  that  curseth  thee," 
said  the  Lord  unto  Abram.  This  idea  of  spirit- 
intervention  in  the  affairs  of  man  was  indoctri- 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS  6T 

nated  into  the  minds  of  Isaac  and  Jacob  and 
finally  fastened  on  the  Jewish  people  the  great- 
est theocracy  the  world  has  ever  known.  In  this 
Abraham  departed  from  the  religion  of  the 
Egyptians  who  believed  in  a  future  bliss  and 
in  punishment  after  death,  but  not  in  a  Divine 
punishment  in  this  life. 

While  Abraham  put  his  faith  in  one  god,  his 
especial  favorite  and  guardian,  he  was  a  poly- 
thelst  in  belief;  in  fact,  the  Jews  afterwards,  fol- 
lowing the  belief  of  other  nations  about  them, 
taught  the  plurality  of  gods. 

In  giving  his  directions  to  his  servants  about 
selecting  a  wife  for  his  son  Isaac,  he  said,  "  I  will 
make  thee  swear  by  the  Lord,  the  God  of  heaven, 
and  the  God  of  the  earth,  that  thou  shalt  not  take 
a  wife  unto  my  son  of  the  daughters  of  the 
Canaanites,  among  whom  I  dwell."  "  The  Lord 
God  of  heaven,  which  took  me  from  my  father's 
house,  and  from  the  land  of  my  kindred,  and 
which  spake  unto  me,  and  that  swear  unto  me  say- 
ing: Unto  thy  seed  will  I  give  this  land,  he  shall 
send  his  angel  before  thee,  and  thou  shalt  take  a 
wife  unto  my  son  from  thence."  And  the  serv- 
ant said,  "  O  Lord  God  of  my  master  Abraham,  I 
pray  thee,  send  me  good  speed  this  day,  and  show 
kindness  unto  my  master  Abraham." 

After  Abraham  had  gone  out  with  his  servants 
and  allies,  and  defeated  with  great  slaughter 
Chedorlaomer  and  the  kings  that  were  with  him, 
and  rescued  Lot  and  his  family  and  retaken  the 


68     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

spoils,  the  king  of  Sodom  went  out  to  meet  him  at 
the  valley  of  Siddim,  which  is  the  king's  dale. 
Melchizedek,  king  of  Salem,  went  also  and  took 
with  him  bread  and  wine  and  refreshed  the  army 
of  Melchizedek,  was  "  the  priest  of  the  most 
high  god,"  and  he  blessed  Abraham  and  said, 
"  Blessed  be  Abraham  of  the  Most  High  God, 
possessor  of  heaven  and  earth.  And  blessed  be 
the  most  high  God  which  hath  delivered  thine 
enemies  into  thy  hand."  And  Abraham  gave 
tithes  unto  Melchizedek,  thus  acknowledging  him 
as  his  superior. 

After  he  had  been  blessed  by  Melchizedek,  wliich 
blessing  was  nothing  more  than  conferring  upon 
him  full  powers  of  seerage  and  more  fully  in- 
doctrinating him  into  the  occult  secrets  and  learn- 
ing of  the  Magi,  Abram  had  familiar  and  almost 
constant  intercourse  with  the  spirit  world.  After 
this,  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  Abram  in  a 
vision  saying,  "  Fear  not,  Abram ;  I  am  thy 
shield  and  thy  exceeding  great  reward."  "  I  am 
the  Lord  that  brought  thee  out  of  Ur  of  the 
Chaldees,  to  give  this  land  to  inherit  it."  In  that 
conversation  the  spirit  instructed  Abram  to  "  take 
an  heifer  of  three  years  old,  and  a  she  goat  of 
three  years  old,  and  a  ram  of  three  years  old,  and 
a  turtle-dove,  and  a  pigeon,"  for  an  offering. 
Abram  "  laid  each  piece  one  against  the  other," 
and  "  when  it  was  dark,  a  smoking  furnace  and  a 
burning  lamp  passed  between  those  pieces." 
That  day  the  Lord  made  a  covenant  with  Abram 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS   69 

"  to  thy  seed  have  I  given  this  land  from  the  river 
of  Egypt  to  the  great  river  Euphrates." 

In  analyzing  this  offering  of  meat  to  the  spirit 
and  the  covenant  between  Abram  and  his  God,  we 
must  consider  it  in  the  light  of  the  relations  be- 
tween them.  It  is  a  well  known  fact  among  all 
occultists,  schooled  in  the  science  of  spiritology, 
that  earth-bound  spirits  have  all  the  appetites, 
passions,  and  tendencies  that  controlled  them  while 
in  earth  life.  That  was  a  great  meat-eating  age, 
and  while  spirits  not  materialized  cannot  masticate 
food,  yet  they  indulge  in  the  aroma  arising  from 
such  foods  and  drinks  as  they  indulged  in  while  in 
the  earth  life.  Hence  a  man  dying  a  drunkard 
seeks  out  susceptible  agents,  or  sensitives,  and 
throws  an  influence  of  drink  on  them ;  when  a 
sensitive  is  indulging  his  appetite  in  drink  or 
food,  his  controlling  spirit  indulges  in  the  aroma, 
or  spirit  influence  of  the  viand  or  drink. 

The  Jews  and  all  the  ancients  off'ered  up  living 
sacrifices  to  their  tutelary  gods.  In  extreme  cases 
even  human  sacrifices  were  off'ered  up.  The  most 
striking  case  of  this  kind  is  that  of  Jephthah's 
daughter. 

The  spirit  of  the  Lord  came  upon  Jephthah 
and  Jephthah  vowed  a  vow  unto  the  Lord,  and 
said,  "  If  thou  shalt  without  fail  deliver  the  chil- 
dren of  Ammon  into  mine  hands,  then  it  shall  be, 
that  whatsoever  cometh  forth  of  the  doors  of  my 
house  to  meet  me,  when  I  return  in  peace  from 
the  children  of  Ammon,  shall  surely  be  the  Lord's 


70  LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

and  I  will  offer  it  up  as  a  burnt  offering." 
Jephthah's  arms  prevailed  and  when  he  returned 
home  his  daughter,  his  only  child,  came  with  tim- 
brels and  with  dances  to  meet  him.  This  sorrowed 
the  heart  of  Jephthah,  but  his  vow  to  his  Lord 
was  more  sacred  to  him  than  the  life  of  his 
daughter.  After  she  had  gone  to  the  mountains 
for  two  months  to  bewail  her  virginity,  she  re- 
turned and  Jephthah  fulfilled  his  vow  and  his 
daughter  was  sacrificed  on  the  altar.     Judges  xi. 

These  sacrifices  were  under  the  Aaronic  priest- 
hood, a  priesthood  that  concerned  itself  with  the 
secular  affairs  of  men  in  this  life  and  in  tliis  world. 
To  banish  this  heathenish  practice,  Jesus  offered 
himself  up  as  a  final  sacrifice  for  all  men  in  order 
that  the  abominations  of  the  Old  Testament  might 
be  dispensed  with  and  the  new  dispensation  take 
its  place. 

Abraham  introduced  the  law  of  circumcision 
among  the  Hebrews.  It  was  established  as  a  re- 
ligious ceremony  that  every  male  child  should  be 
circumcised  at  the  age  of  eight  days,  under  pen- 
alty of  death.  While  it  was  observed  as  a  re- 
ligious ordinance,  its  real  use  was  a  hygienic  meas- 
ure which  has  kept  the  blood  of  that  people  pure 
through  the  ages. 

A  most  wonderful  spiritual  manifestation  oc- 
curred to  Abraham  as  he  sat  in  his  tent  door,  in 
the  plains  of  Mamre,  in  the  heat  of  the  day.  The 
Lord  spoke  to  him  and  when  he  lifted  up  his  eyes, 
three  men  as  he  took  them  to  be  at  that  time,  stood 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS      71 

by  him.  He  caused  them  to  be  refreshed  and  he 
comforted  them  with  a  fine  meal  consisting  of 
bread,  a  well  cooked  calf-steak,  butter,  and  milk. 
For  his  kindness  the  Lord  informed  him  that 
Sarah,  his  wife,  should  bear  him  a  son. 

The  point  that  I  wish  to  impress  is,  that  spirits 
on  the  other  side  of  life  did  at  that  day  commune 
with  Abraham  and  were  so  firmly  materialized  that 
they  actually  ate,  drank,  and  conversed  with  Abra- 
ham. They  informed  him  of  the  coming  destruc- 
tion of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah ;  they  also  went  to 
the  city,  stayed  all  night  with  Lot,  and  directed 
him  how  to  save  himself  and  family  from  the  pend- 
ing fate  of  the  place. 

THE  ZODIAC 

The  Christian  religion  is  not  an  imaginative 
sophism  for  the  building  of  theories  to  catch  and 
hold  the  unsophisticated  but  a  real  structure,  the 
foundation  of  which  was  laid  in  the  manifesta- 
tions of  nature  reflected  through  these  physical 
sciences  that  reach  back  beyond  the  life  of  history, 
the  most  pronounced  being  the  science  of  astron- 
omy. 

The  Christian  religion  in  its  purity  is  the  voice 
of  nature  modelled  in  part  upon  the  signs  of  the 
zodiac ;  only  differing  in  this :  the  Jewish  religion 
was  founded  on  the  physical  planes  of  life  repre- 
sented by  the  movements  of  the  heavenly  bodies 
as  first  brought  to  the  attention  of  men  through 
the  Magi,  a  learned  body  of  scholars  of  Ninevah ; 


72     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

while  the  Christian  religion  reflects  the  spiritual 
side  evolved  from  the  same  philosophy.  The 
foundation  of  the  principles  of  the  philosophy  of 
the  spiritual  side  of  the  Christian  religion  was 
brought  from  the  city  of  Ur  of  Chaldea  by  Abra- 
ham and  through  him  sent  down  the  channels  of 
the  Jewish  religion.  They  culminated  in  the 
vision  of  John  on  the  isle  of  Patmos,  when  the 
holy  city  of  the  new  Jerusalem,  with  her  twelve 
foundations,  twelve  gates,  and  twelve  precious 
stones,  descended  out  of  heaven  from  God. 

Students  of  astronomy  ask  the  question,  "  Why 
is  it  that  the  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac  are  repre- 
sented by  the  figures  of  animals  when  there  are  no 
such  figures  found  in  star-clusters  ?  "  The  an- 
swer is  this:  the  changing  positions  of  the  earth 
in  its  revolution  around  the  sun,  as  it  passes  be- 
tween different  clusters  of  stars  and  the  sun  causes 
it  to  receive  different  impressions ;  those  impres- 
sions stimulate  certain  natures  prominent  in  dif- 
ferent animals,  and  perceptible  in  different  peo- 
ple. This  fact  was  the  foundation  of  the  science 
of  astrology  which  in  its  nature  is  too  refined  and 
esoteric  for  general  uses  or  for  defined  laws. 

Nature  is  a  great  big  play-ground  filled  with 
beauties  and  wonders  that  lead  us  right  into  the 
bosom  of  God  if  we  study  his  Bible  with  adora- 
tion. This  Bible  is  written  in  the  language  of 
every  nation  and  every  people.  And  no  man  can 
revise,  alter,  or  modify  it  in  its  least  particle.  It 
is  unsealed.     Its  truths  are  imprinted  in  the  rocks 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS      73 

of  ages,  impressed  on  each  sand  of  the  sea-shore, 
engraved  in  vegetation,  glorified  in  the  rose,  in 
the  lily,  and  in  each  floweret  that  nods  in  the 
breeze.  It  has  open  pages  on  the  canvas  of  the 
sky.  The  stars  invite  the  erudition  of  man.  The 
moaning  breezes  sing  of  it,  the  raging  storms  are 
paragraphs  of  its  everlasting  print.  All  of  na- 
ture is  its  binding  and  God  its  embodiment.  Read 
it  for  it  binds  the  ties  of  love ;  it  cements  the  heart 
in  the  sweet  communion  of  friendship ;  it  opens 
the  soul  to  the  induction  of  truth  and  teaches  man 
how  to  save  himself  through  himself.  Then  the 
true  and  tender  admonitions  of  Jesus  will  be  fully 
realized  and  the  city  of  God  that  John  saw  will 
be  appreciated.  The  two  Bibles  belong  together; 
by  the  reading  of  the  one  the  other  is  interpreted. 

Nature  is  constructed  and  controlled  on  the 
principles  of  mathematics,  which  science  is  the 
structural  basis  of  every  ph3^sical  thing,  whether 
it  be  a  sphere,  evanescent  gas,  the  mammal,  or  the 
ephemeral  insect  of  an  hour.  If  our  knowledge 
were  sufficient  we  could  demonstrate  every  factor 
of  nature  by  mathematics. 

Coming  back  to  the  zodiac,  let  us  view  it  as  a 
great  factor  in  our  solar  universe,  and  from  that 
bring  to  our  minds  its  influence  in  forming  the  re- 
ligious thought  of  men.  While  we  speak  of  re- 
ligious thought,  let  us  not  forget  man's  peculiar- 
ities. 

In  the  remote  ages  of  ignorance,  the  shades  of 
which  are  still  hovering  over  the  intellect  of  the 


74     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

masses  to  a  regrettable  extent,  men  could  best  be 
controlled  through  their  religious  convictions. 
Those  in  authority  commanded  and  the  people 
obeyed  because  they  presumed  that  the  decree 
came  from  a  supercontrolling  power,  to  disobey 
which  was  a  crime,  to  deny  which  was  death. 

To  call  the  same  power  the  immutable  laws  of 
nature,  which  should  be  obeyed  in  order  that  man 
should  obtain  the  greatest  benefits  of  life,  would 
have  fallen  as  a  dead  letter  and  the  savage  na- 
tures of  men  would  hold  dominion  over  the  mind. 
To  control  that  wild  and  uncultured  nature,  the 
sagacious  leaders  saw  the  necessity  of  clothing  the 
truths  of  nature  in  the  garb  of  holiness.  While 
the  moulders  of  public  opinion  knew  the  scientific 
application  of  the  rules  of  nature  to  the  better- 
ment of  the  race,  they  had  this  difficulty  to  con- 
tend with:  Nature  was  too  mild  to  impress  men 
with  the  importance  of  obeying  its  laws.  To  con- 
trol men  it  was  necessary  to  impress  on  their 
minds  the  existence  of  something  in  the  character 
of  a  supernatural  agency  and  power,which  knowl- 
edge worked  upon  their  emotions,  evoking  the 
tremors  of  fear  on  the  one  hand  and  stimulating 
the  emotions  of  rewards  and  love  on  the  other. 

There  are  twelve  constellations  of  stars  in  the 
heavens,  which  the  earth  passes  as  it  revolves 
around  the  sun.  As  the  earth  passes  between 
those  different  clusters  and  the  sun,  the  earth  and 
the  animal,  vegetable,  and  climatic  fruitage  there- 
of are  differently  affected  at  different  seasons  of 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS   75 

the  year.  Simply  to  call  those  early  minds  of 
men  to  these  natural  facts  was  to  make  but  little 
impression  on  them ;  therefore  the  powers  and  di- 
visions of  the  star  clusters  were  made  to  represent, 
in  the  thoughts  of  the  people,  something  closer  to 
home  than  the  starry  depths.  So  the  master 
minds  associated  the  number  twelve  with  the  re- 
ligious ceremonies  of  the  Jewish  people.  This 
practice  commenced  with  Jacob  calling  up  his 
twelve  sons,  who  we  have  every  reason  to  believe 
were  but  symbolisms  to  demonstrate  a  religious 
tenet.  Then  came  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel,  the 
twelve  stones  in  the  breast-plate  of  Aaron,  and 
the  twelve  men  selected  by  Joshua,  each  with  a 
stone,  who  caused  the  water  of  the  Jordan  to 
assuage  in  order  that  the  children  of  Israel  might 
pass  into  the  promised  land.  There  were  twelve 
gates  to  the  holy  city,  and  following  the  scientific 
order,  Jesus  selected  twelve  apostles ;  there  were 
twelve  manner  of  fruit  on  the  tree  of  Paradise 
the  leaves  of  which  were  for  the  healing  of  the 
nations ;  there  were  twelve  stones  to  the  twelve 
gates  of  the  holy  city.  To  the  casual  reader  the 
number  twelve  presents  no  significance,  but  to  the 
religio-scientific,  the  number  is  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance. 

We  will  divest  the  mysteries  of  the  zodiac  of 
scientific  nomenclature  and  simplify  our  language 
so  that  it  may  be  of  use  to  the  general  reader. 
Let  us  consider  the  sun  as  the  center  of  our  uni- 
verse and  the  earth  as  revolving  around  it  once 


76     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

each  year.  Beyond  the  path  of  the  earth  the 
fixed  stars  are  located.  The  earth  in  its  revolu- 
tion around  the  sun  is  continually  passing  a  direct 
line  reaching  from  the  sun  outward  to  some  of 
those  stars.  The  stars  of  our  universe  visible 
from  the  northern  hemisphere  are  divided  into 
twelve  constellations  or  groups.  For  a  simple  il- 
lustration of  those  constellations,  we  will  take  the 
sun  as  the  center  and  from  it  draw  twelve  imagi- 
nary lines  outward  into  space.  Between  those 
lines  are  twelve  spaces,  in  each  of  which  are 
clusters  of  stars,  called  signs  of  the  zodiac.  The 
earth  in  its  revolution  actually  passes  between 
those  groups  of  stars  and  the  sun. 

The  ancient  Chaldeans  ascertained  the  location 
of  those  star-groups  and  that  each  of  them  threw 
an  influence  on  the  earth,  and  on  the  people  and 
products  of  the  earth  as  the  earth  passed  between 
them  and  the  sun.  By  a  long  and  patient  ob- 
servation it  was  ascertained  that  the  earth,  in 
passing  the  respective  groups  was  affected  in  dif- 
ferent ways  and  all  of  animal  and  vegetable  na- 
ture was  accordingly  influenced.  They  marked 
the  influences  of  the  different  groups  on  mankind 
and  on  animal  nature,  and  they  associated  the 
effects  of  each  group  with  the  nature  of  the  ani- 
mal that  the  passing  of  the  groups  by  the  earth 
aroused ;  then  they  drew  a  map  representing  the 
different  animals  thus  imagined. 

The  names  of  the  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac 
with  their  beasts,  are  as  follows : 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS     77 

Aries  —  Ram. 
Taurus  —  Bull. 
Gemini  —  Twins. 
Cancer  —  Crab. 
Leo  —  Lion. 
Virgo  —  Virgin. 
Libra  —  Balances. 
Scorpio  —  Scorpion. 
Sagittarius  —  Archer. 
Capricornus  —  Goat. 
Aquarius  —  Water-bearer. 
Pisces  —  Fishes. 

Jacob,  in  blessing  his  sons,  associated  the 
meaning  of  their  names  with  certain  influences  of 
the  zodiac  on  mankind.  All  the  natures  of  man 
are  presumed  to  be  associated  with  zodiacal  in- 
fluences, thrown  upon  the  child  at  birth.  When 
Jacob  called  his  sons  before  him,  his  great  mind 
associated  the  name  of  each  with  a  scientific  prob- 
lem of  nature  and  we  would  be  better  off  did  we 
understand  them  in  the  light  in  which  they  were 
held  and  understood  by  that  great  man. 

Reuben  was  the  first  born  of  Jacob,  the  head 
of  his  family  of  children,  and  consequently  the 
first  to  be  called  up  to  receive  the  blessing  of  his 
father.  Reuben  represents  the  first  sign  of  the 
zodiac. 

The  signs  however  are  not  the  same  in  position 
now  that  they  were  in  the  days  of  Jacob,  because 
of  the  retrocession  of  the  equinoxes   (about  50 


78      LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

1-10  yearly,  or  at  the  rate  of  72  years  to  a  de- 
gree, displacing  an  entire  sign  in  about  2152 
years,  and  making  an  entire  revolution  in  about 
25,868  years),  and  the  result  is,  that  since  the 
days  of  Jacob  the  constellations  have  moved  west- 
ward almost  two  signs ;  we  have  passed  through 
Aries  and  are  almost  ready  to  enter  the  sign  of 
Gemini.  (According  to  our  calculations  the  earth 
enters  the  sign  of  Aries  on  the  21st  of  March  and 
remains  in  that  sign  until  the  19th  of  April. 
This  sign  is  represented  by  the  ram,  one  meaning 
of  which  is  "  head."  The  use  of  the  head  is  to 
think,  to  reason.  "  Thou  art  my  first  bom,"  said 
Jacob  when  blessing  his  children,  "  my  might  and 
the  beginning  of  my  strength,  the  excellency  of 
dignity  and  the  excellency  of  power."  Those 
qualities  belong  to  the  head,  but  because  of  an  in- 
decent act  of  Reuben,  Jacob  concluded  with  a 
curse,  "  Unstable  as  water,  thou  shalt  not  excel." 
Although  Reuben  was  endowed  with  great  brain 
power,  he  did  not  excel,  for  his  tribe,  with  that  of 
the  Gadltes  and  the  half  tribe  of  Manasseh  were 
carried  off  by  Pul  and  Tiglath-Pileser,  which  Is 
the  last  historical  Information  we  have  of  them. 
Jacob  associated  Simeon  and  Levi,  who  were 
twins,  together.  That  brings  up  the  double  con- 
stellations of  the  Bull  and  Twins.  Astronomically 
the  earth  enters  the  sign  of  Taurus,  or  Bull,  on 
the  19th  of  April  and  It  takes  unto  the  20th  of 
May  to  pass  through  it.  The  legend  of  the 
Bull  is  "  stiff  necked,  firm,  obstinate,  bull  headed." 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS   79 

The  third  sign  of  the  zodiac  is  Gemini,  Twins. 
In  Grecian  mythology,  they  are  called  Castor  and 
Pollux.  They  were  warlike  in  their  natures, 
treacherous  in  their  friendships  and  cruel  in  their 
behavior.  Simeon  and  Levi  were  of  the  same 
type.  Jacob  in  his  charge  to  his  sons  said  to 
and  of  them,  "  Simeon  and  Levi  are  brethren, 
instruments  of  cruelty  are  in  their  habitations. 
Cursed  be  their  anger,  for  it  was  fierce ;  and  their 
wrath,  for  it  was  cruel ;  I  will  divide  them  in  Jacob 
and  scatter  them  in  Israel." 

Let  us  compare  the  curse  of  Simeon  and  Levi 
with  the  characters  attributed  to  Castor  and  Pol- 
lux, or  Gemini,  the  constellation  of  the  twins. 
They  were  twin  brothers,  sons  of  Jupiter  and  the 
wife  of  Tyndarus,  king  of  Sparta.  They  were 
invited  to  the  nuptials  of  Phoeba  and  Talaria,  the 
daughters  of  Leucippius.  Their  behavior  after 
this  invitation  was  cruel;  they  became  enamored 
of  the  two  women  whose  nuptials  they  were  to 
celebrate  and  resolved  to  carry  them  away  and 
marry  them.  A  battle  ensued  and  Castor  killed 
Lynceus,  and  was  himself  killed  by  Idas.  Pollux 
revenged  the  death  of  his  brother  by  killing  Idas. 
Pollux  desiring  to  be  with  his  brother  who  was 
immortal,  Jupiter  pemiitted  Castor  to  share  his 
immortality  with  his  brother,  and  consequently,  as 
long  as  one  was  pennitted  to  be  on  earth  the  other 
was  detained  in  the  infernal  regions,  and  they  al- 
ternately lived  and  died  every  day,  or  according 
to  some,  every  six  months.     Jupiter  rewarded  the 


80     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

brothers  by  making  them  a  constellation  in  heaven 
under  the  name  of  Gemini.  The  earth  enters  this 
sign  on  the  20th  of  May  and  leaves  it  June  21st. 

Zebulun:  constellation  Cancer,  the  Crab. 
Jacob  in  his  order  of  blessing  his  children  did  not 
follow  the  order  of  birth,  but  in  this  instance 
placed  Zebulun  before  he  did  Judah ;  the  reason 
probably  was  that  in  the  second  trinity  of  the 
seasons,  June,  July  and  August,  the  lion  is  the 
center  of  the  trinity,  because  it  is  the  stronger. 

The  earth  enters  this  sign  June  21st  and  it 
takes  until  July  22nd  to  pass  through  it.  This 
sign  represents  the  breast  of  the  individual,  the 
lacteals,  the  maternal  functions.  It  rules  the 
department  of  home,  domesticity,  safety. 

Says  Jacob,  "  Zebulun  shall  dwell  at  the  haven 
of  the  sea ;  and  he  shall  be  for  a  haven  of  ships ; 
and  his  border  shall  be  unto  Zidon."  The  crab 
was  associated  by  Jacob  with  water,  the  sea.  Ac- 
cording to  Grecian  fable,  the  crab  was  trans- 
ported to  heaven  at  the  request  of  Juno,  after  it 
had  been  slain  by  Hercules  during  his  battle  with 
the  serpent  Python ;  but  the  evident  purpose  of 
the  name  is  to  represent  the  apparent  motion  of 
the  sun  in  June,  which  is  said  to  resemble  the 
movement  of  the  crab  in  its  backward  motions. 

Judah:  constellation  Leo,  the  Lion. 

The  earth  enters  the  sign  of  Leo  July  22nd 
and  leaves  it  August  22nd.  In  man  this  repre- 
sents the  heart  forces:  the  love  sentiment  and 
emotions.     It  forces  the  blood  through  the  whole 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS     81 

person ;  it  gives  it  strength.  In  the  signs  of  the 
zodiac  it  represents  the  heat  of  July  and  August, 
when  the  sun  has  attained  its  greatest  power ;  it 
is  symbolized  in  our  almanacs  by  the  figure  of  an 
enraged  lion.  Says  Jacob,  "  Judah,  thou  art  he 
whom  thy  brethren  shall  praise ;  for  thy  hand 
shall  be  on  the  necks  of  thine  enemies ;  thy  father's 
children  shall  bow  down  before  thee.  Judah  is  a 
lion's  whelp ;  from  the  prey,  my  son,  thou  art 
gone  up ;  he  stooped  down,  he  couched  as  a  lion, 
and  as  an  old  lion ;  who  shall  rouse  him  up  ?  The 
scepter  shall  not  depart  from  Judah,  nor  a  law- 
giver from  between  his  feet,  until  Shiloh  come; 
and  unto  him  shall  the  gathering  of  the  people 
be."  The  tribe  of  Judah  was  a  warlike  tribe, 
aggressive  and  strong.  From  this  tribe  de- 
scended the  Master. 

Issachar:  constellation  Virgo,  the  virgin, — 
the  Virgin  Mother,  Eve,  Isis.  The  earth  enters 
this  sign  on  the  22nd  of  August  and  leaves  it  Sept- 
ember 23rd.  On  the  zodiacal  diagram  it  is  rep- 
resented by  a  female  holding  a  bunch  of  ripened 
fruit  in  her  hand,  the  apples  of  Paradise,  symbol- 
izing the  productive  powers  of  nature.  With  this 
idea  in  his  mind,  Jacob  said,  "  Issachar  is  a  strong 
ass  couching  down  between  two  burdens ;  and  he 
saw  that  rest  was  good,  and  the  land  that  it  was 
pleasant ;  and  bowed  his  shoulder  to  bear,  and  be- 
came a  servant  unto  tribute."  There  is  too  much 
similarity  between  the  productive  fruits  of  that 
season  of  the  year,  and  the  burdens  of  the  body 


82      LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

and  the  bowing  down  of  the  strong  ass  between 
two  burdens,  as  presented  by  Jacob,  to  be  a  mere 
accident  without  a  concurrence  of  meaning. 

Dan :  constellation  Libra,  Balances.  The  earth 
enters  this  sign  September  23rd  and  leaves  it  Oc- 
tober 23rd.  It  represents  the  reproductive  func- 
tions of  the  human  system;  in  morals,  the  high 
functions  of  justice  with  her  scales  weighing  and 
balancing  the  relations  of  man  unto  man.  "  Ren- 
der unto  Csesar  that  which  is  Caesar's."  The 
scales  are  emblematic  of  the  position  of  the  sun 
at  this  time  of  the  year.  When  the  sun  arrives 
at  this  part  of  the  ecliptic  the  days  and  nights  are 
equal  as  if  weighed  in  a  balance:  hence  when  the 
sun  enters  Libra  about  September  21st  it  is  called 
the  autumnal  equinox.  On  the  25th  of  September 
was  bom  John  the  Baptist  and  on  the  25th  of 
March,  says  Higgins,  "  Jesus  came  to  the  ex- 
altation of  his  glory."  This  is  called  the  vernal 
equinox.  John  preceded  and  prepared  the  way ; 
Jesus  came  after  him  in  his  increasing  glory.  In 
speaking  of  the  event  John  says,  "  He  must  in- 
crease but  I  must  decrease,"  John  iii.  30.  Jacob 
in  speaking  of  Dan  says,  "  Dan  shall  judge  his 
people  as  one  of  the  tribes  of  Israel.  Dan  shall 
be  a  serpent  by  the  way,  an  adder  in  the  path,  that 
biteth  the  horse's  heels,  so  that  his  rider  shall  fall 
backward.  I  have  waited  for  thy  salvation,  O 
Lord." 

Gad:  constellation  Scorpio,  the  Scorpion. 
The  earth  enters  this  sign  October  23rd  and  leaves 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS   83 

it  November  23rd.  It  is  supposed  to  control  the 
sex  functions.  In  astrology  Scorpio  is  fabled  to 
have  killed  the  great  hunter  Orion  and  for  that  he 
was  placed  among  the  constellations ;  for  this 
reason  also  it  is  said  that  "  when  Scorpio  rises 
Orion  sets."  Following  the  thought  Jacob  said, 
''  A  troop  shall  overcome  him ;  but  he  shall  over- 
come at  the  last." 

Asher:  constellation  Sagittarius,  Archer.  The 
earth  enters  this  sign  about  November  22nd  and 
leaves  it  about  December  21st.  This  sign  relates 
to  the  thighs  of  the  man,  to  the  muscular  organ- 
ism, the  motor  nerves,  activity  of  both  body  and 
mind.  In  mythology  it  represents  the  fabled 
Crotus,  a  son  of  Eumene,  the  nurse  of  the  Muses. 
He  devoted  his  life  to  the  labors  of  the  chase  and 
after  death  Jupiter  placed  him  among  the  constel- 
lations under  the  name  of  Sagittarius.  Jacob  in 
his  blessings  said  of  him,  "  His  bread  shall  be  fat 
and  he  shall  produce  royal  dainties." 

Naphtali:  constellation  Capricorn,  the  Goat. 
The  earth  enters  this  sign  about  December  23rd 
and  leaves  it  about  January  20th.  This  is  the 
head  of  the  winter  trinity,  the  longest  night  in  the 
year,  called  the  winter  solstice.  It  is  the  time  for 
thoughtful  meditation.  In  mythology  it  is 
fabled  to  have  been  Pan,  who  in  the  war  of  the 
giants  was  taken  to  heaven  in  the  form  of  a  goat. 
Some  claim  that  this  sign  represents  the  goat  of 
Amalthaea,  which  fed  Jupiter  with  her  milk.  To 
reward  her  kindness  she  was  taken  to  heaven  and 


84   LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

made  a  constellation.  Jacob  said,  "  Naphtali  is  a 
hind  let  loose,  he  giveth  goodly  words." 

Joseph:  constellation  Aquarius,  the  Water- 
bearer.  The  earth  enters  this  constellation  Jan- 
uary 20th  and  leaves  it  February  19th.  Those 
bom  under  this  sign  are  strong,  active,  nervous, 
sagacious,  usually  good  business  men  appreciat- 
ing the  worth  of  honor.  The  women  are  usually 
good  housewives  and  useful  members  in  domestic 
circles.  In  mythology  the  person  symbolized  was 
supposed  to  be  Ganymede,  the  son  of  Tross,  and 
a  beautiful  youth  of  Phrygia.  When  out  hunt- 
ing one  day  he  was  taken  up  to  heaven  by  Jupiter 
where  he  became  the  cup-bearer  of  the  gods  in  the 
place  of  Hebe.  This  sign  is  represented  by  the 
water-bearer  as  during  this  period  there  is  usually 
a  great  abundance  of  rain.  Jacob  was  very  pro- 
fuse in  blessing  his  favorite  son,  Joseph. 
"  Joseph  is  a  fruitful  bough,  even  a  fruitful 
bough  by  a  well ;  whose  branches  run  over  the 
wall."  Mark  the  association  of  the  fruitful 
bough  by  the  well  of  water,  and  the  constellation 
whose  sign  is  "  water-bearer."  Was  the  allusion 
of  Jacob  a  mere  accidental  coincidence  with  the 
meaning  of  the  constellation  or  did  he  have  a 
mind  on  the  zodiacal  sign? 

Benjamin,  the  twelfth  son  of  Jacob,  and  the 
constellation  Pisces,  Fish,  the  twelfth  sign  of  the 
zodiac.  The  earth  enters  this  sign  on  the  19th 
of  February  and  leaves  it  March  21st.  The  in- 
fluence of  this  sign  on  those  bom  during  its  reign 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS      85 

is  to  give  them  clever  understanding  of  the  affairs 
of  Hfe.  They  are  active  of  person  because  the 
sign  applies  to  the  feet.  They  have  a  love  of  ac- 
quiring scientific  knowledge,  are  good  students  of 
history,  travels,  and  adventure.  The  sign  is  rep- 
resented, by  two  fishes  tied  together  by  their  tails. 
The  fishes  were  fabled  by  the  Greeks  to  be  those 
into  which  Venus  and  Cupid  were  changed  to  es- 
cape from  the  giant  Typhon. 

"  Benjamin  shall  raven  as  a  wolf."  This 
prophesy  was  most  literally  fulfilled.  In  the  war 
with  the  children  of  Israel  all  the  Benjamite 
women  had  been  taken  prisoners,  or  destroyed,  so 
that  those  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin  who  had  saved 
themselves  by  flight,  found  themselves  without 
women.  They  became  very  much  concerned 
about  the  future  of  the  tribe  for  the  want  of 
wives ;  so  they  were  instructed  by  the  Lord  to  go 
and  lie  in  wait  in  the  vineyards  and  when  the 
daughters  of  Shiloh  come  out  to  dance  to  seize 
them, — ^"  every  man  his  wife  of  the  daughters  of 
Shiloh  and  go  to  the  land  of  Benjamin."  Judges 
xxi.  Jacob  blesses  his  youngest  son  in  very  short 
and  terse  terms.  "  Benjamin  shall  raven  as  a 
wolf;  in  the  morning  he  shall  devour  his  prey, 
and  at  night  he  shall  divide  the  spoil." 

If  the  blessings  of  Jacob  upon  his  twelve  sons 
were  all  the  evidence  we  have  to  prove  that  the 
Bible  was  founded  on  nature  as  expressed,  we 
might  still  be  doubtful  of  the  strength  of  our 
argument.     But  in  discussing  these  questions,  let 


86     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

us  bear  in  mind  that  the  Bible  is  a  double  book 
in  which  commonplace  expressions  are  made  with 
scientific  meanings.  One  reading  is  for  the  un- 
trained, the  other  for  those  initiated  into  its  mys- 
teries. While  no  man  can  fathom  all  of  these 
mysteries,  yet  it  does  not  take  a  scholarly  intellect 
to  trace  the  evidences  of  them  from  the  beginning 
of  Genesis  to  the  end  of  Revelations. 

While  studying  these  Biblical  problems  let  us 
keep  in  mind  that  the  signs  of  the  zodiac  are  rep- 
resented by  beasts  and  that  the  burden  of  the  vis- 
ions of  John  on  the  Isle  of  Patmos  was  the  asso- 
ciation of  those  beasts  with  the  new  Jerusalem 
that  he  saw  come  down  from  God.  If  the  reader 
will  keep  these  figurative  associations  well  in  mind, 
the  verdict  will  necessarily  be  that  our  religion 
was  born  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates  and  fig- 
uratively written  in  the  zodiacal  signs  which  are 
eternal  in  the  heavens. 

Following  the  twelve  sons  of  Jacob,  we  see  them 
expanded  into  twelve  tribes,  all  united,  but  yet 
distinctive  branches  of  the  same  people.  We  will 
pass  by  minor  data  and  go  with  Moses  and  the 
children  of  Israel  into  the  desert,  where  two  years 
and  two  months  after  their  departure  from  Egypt 
on  their  way  to  the  Holy  Land,  the  Lord  com- 
manded that  this  struggling  people  should  be 
numbered  and  stationed  in  camps  according  to  his 
directions. 

A  description  of  this  wonderful  camp  and  the 
numbering  of  the  children  of  Israel  is  found  in 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS  87 

the  first  and  second  chapters  of  the  book  of  Num- 
bers. "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses  and 
Aaron  saying,  Every  man  of  the  children  of 
Israel  shall  pitch  by  his  own  standard  with  the 
ensign  of  his  father's  house."  Godfrey  Higgins 
in  the  Anacalypsis  says  that  the  signs  of  the 
zodiac,  with  the  exceptions  of  Scorpio  which  was 
exchanged  by  Dan  for  the  eagle,  were  carried  by 
the  different  tribes  of  the  Israelites  on  their 
standards ;  and  Taurus,  Leo,  Aquarius,  and 
Scorpio  or  the  Eagle,  the  four  signs  of  Reuben, 
Judah,  Ephraim  and  Dan,  were  placed  at  the  four 
comers,  the  four  cardinal  points  of  their  encamp- 
ment, evidently  in  allusion  to  the  cardinal  points 
of  the  sphere,  the  equinoxes  and  solstices,  when 
the  equinox  was  in  Taurus.  These  coincidents 
prove  that  the  Israelitic  system  of  religion  had  its 
origin  before  the  bull  ceased  to  be  an  equinoctial 
sign,  and  it  proves  also,  that  the  religion  of 
]\Ioses  was  originally  the  same  in  its  secret  mys- 
teries as  that  of  the  heathen. 

The  camp  was  in  the  form  of  a  square.  On  the 
east  side,  toward  the  rising  of  the  sun,  the  camp 
of  Judah  was  pitched  and  on  one  side  of  Judah 
was  the  tribe  of  Issachar,  on  the  other  was  the 
tribe  of  Zebulun.  This  fomned  the  eastern 
trinity  of  the  camp,  corresponding  with  the  three 
spring  months,  March,  April,  and  May.  This 
combination  of  three  tribes  of  Israel  formed  the 
camp  of  Judah  and  on  his  standard  was  the  beast 
sign  Leo,  the  lion. 


88     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

On  the  south  side  was  the  standard  of  the  camp 
of  Reuben.  On  one  side  of  this  camp  was  the 
tribe  of  Simeon  and  on  the  other  was  the  tribe  of 
Gad,  and  the  standard  of  the  camp  of  Reuben  was 
Taurus,  the  bull. 

On  the  west  side  was  the  standard  of  the  camp 
of  Ephraim.  On  one  side  of  Ephraim  was  the 
tribe  of  Manasseh  and  on  the  other  side  was  the 
tribe  of  Benjamin.  This  formed  the  camp  of 
Ephraim,  the  standard  of  which  was  Aquarius, 
the  Water-bearer. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  camp  was  the  standard 
of  the  camp  of  Dan,  Libra,  the  scales.  On  one 
side  of  the  tribe  of  Dan  was  the  tribe  of  Asher 
and  on  the  other  side  was  that  of  Naphtali. 

This  encampment  was  placed  in  a  hollow  square 
on  the  inside  of  which  was  the  tabernacle  of  the 
congregation,  guarded  and  taken  care  of  by  the 
tribe  of  Levi,  which  was  stationed  round  about  it. 

THE  BEASTS  THAT  EZEKIEL  SAW 

Let  us  now  consider  the  prophesy  of  Ezekiel 
made  on  the  river  Chebar,  while  he  was  a  captive 
with  the  children  of  Israel  in  the  land  of  the  Chal- 
deans, and  mark  the  similarity  with  the  vision  of 
Daniel  and  Avith  that  of  John  on  the  island  of 
Patmos  ;  and  then  let  us  ask  ourselves  if  the  same 
inspiration  did  not  actuate  all  three  of  these  great 
prophets  and  if  the  basis  of  all  of  them  was  not 
the  beasts  of  the  zodiac  ? 

Says  Ezekiel,  "  It  came  to  pass  as  I  was  among 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS   89 

the  captives  by  the  river  Chebar,  that  the  heavens 
were  opened,  and  I  saw  visions  of  God.  The 
word  of  the  Lord  came  expressly  unto  Ezekiel, 
the  priest,  in  the  land  of  the  Chaldeans.  And  I 
looked,  and  behold  a  whirlwind  came  out  of  the 
north,  a  great  cloud  ;  also  out  of  the  midst  thereof 
came  the  likeness  of  four  living  creatures,  and 
this  was  their  appearance ;  they  had  the  likeness 
of  a  man,  and  every  one  had  four  faces,  and  every 
one  had  four  wings.  And  their  feet  were  straight 
feet ;  and  the  soles  of  their  feet  were  like  the  sole 
of  a  calf's  foot ;  and  they  sparkled  like  color  of 
burnished  brass.  And  they  had  the  hands  of 
a  man  under  their  wings  on  their  four  sides ;  then 
they  had  four  their  faces  and  their  wings.  Their 
wings  were  joined  one  to  another;  they  turned 
not  when  they  went ;  they  went  every  one  straight 
forward.  As  for  the  likeness  of  their  faces,  they 
four  had  the  face  of  a  man,  and  the  face  of  a 
lion,  on  the  right  side ;  and  they  four  had  the  face 
of  an  ox  on  the  left  side ;  they  four  also  had  the 
face  of  an  eagle.     Ezekiel  i.  3-10. 

John  says  of  his  vision,  "  After  this  I  looked, 
and  behold  a  door  was  open  in  heaven ;  and  behold 
a  throne  was  set  in  heaven,  and  one  sat  on  the 
throne.  And  before  the  throne  there  was  a  sea 
of  glass  like  unto  crystal;  and  in  the  midst  the 
throne,  and  round  about  the  throne,  were  four 
beasts  full  of  eyes  before  and  behind.  And  the 
first  beast  was  like  a  lion,  and  the  second  beast 
like  a  calf,  and  the  third  beast  had  a  face  as  a 


90     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

man,  and  the  fourth  beast  was  like  a  flying  eagle." 
Rev.  iv.  1-7. 

The  beast  on  the  standard  of  Judah  was  the 
lion,  that  on  the  standard  of  Reuben  was  the  bull, 
which  looked  like  a  calf  to  John.  On  the  stan- 
dard of  Ephraim  was  the  Water-bearer,  a  man, 
and  on  the  standard  of  Dan  was  Libra.  (Per- 
haps as  Dan  changed  the  Scorpion  to  the  stan- 
dard of  the  Eagle,  that  standard  ought  to  be 
placed  instead  of  the  Scales  in  the  sign.)  How- 
ever, with  that  one  exception  all  three  of  the 
beasts  are  the  same  as  the  beasts  of  the  zodiac 
and  as  those  of  Ezekiel.  Again,  the  city  that 
John  saw  came  out  of  the  heaven  of  God.  It 
was  four' square  "  and  had  a  wall  great  and  high, 
and  had  twelve  gates,  and  at  the  gates  twelve 
angels,  and  names  written  thereon,  which  are  the 
names  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  the  children  of 
Israel."  The  gates  you  will  observe  were  in  the 
same  order  in  the  camp  described  in  Numbers  1 
and  2.  On  the  east  three  gates,  on  the  south 
three  gates,  on  the  west  three  gates,  and  on  the 
north  three  gates. 

To  show  further  that  the  vision  of  John  related 
to  the  earher  prophesies  and  beliefs  of  the  ancient 
Jews  let  us  compare  again  John  and  Ezekiel. 
Ezekiel  was  in  the  land  of  Chaldea  and  was 
prophesying  from  there  about  seven  hundred 
years  before  the  visions  of  John  on  the  isle  of 
Patmos.  Ezekiel  says,  "And  when  I  looked,  be- 
hold, a  hand  was  sent  unto  me,  and  lo,  a  roll  of 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS      91 

a  book  was  therein;  and  he  spread  it  before  me; 
and  it  was  written  within,  and  without ;  and  there 
was  written  therein  lamentations,  and  mourning, 
and  woe.  Moreover  he  said  unto  me.  Son  of  man, 
eat  that  thou  findest;  eat  this  roll,  and  go  speak 
to  the  house  of  Israel.  So  I  opened  my  mouth, 
and  he  caused  me  to  eat  that  roll.  And  he  said 
unto  me,  Son  of  man,  cause  thy  belly  to  eat,  and 
fill  thy  bowels  with  this  roll  that  I  give  thee. 
Then  did  I  eat  it ;  and  it  was  in  my  mouth  as 
honey  for  sweetness.  And  he  said  unto  me.  Son 
of  man,  go,  get  thee  unto  the  house  of  Israel, 
and  speak  of  my  words  unto  them.  Ezek.  ii.  9, 
10 ;  iii.  1-5. 

We  understand  of  course,  that  the  prophet  was 
instructed  to  study  the  law,  and  when  he  became 
learned  to  go  to  the  children  of  Israel  and 
prophesy  unto  them.     Now  let  us  turn  to  John. 

"  And  the  voice  which  I  heard  from  heaven 
spake  unto  me  again,  and  said.  Go  and  take  the 
little  book  which  is  open  in  the  hand  of  the  angel 
which  standeth  upon  the  sea  and  upon  the  earth. 
And  I  went  unto  the  angel  and  said  unto  him,  Give 
me  the  little  book.  And  he  said  unto  me.  Take  it, 
and  eat  it  up ;  and  it  shall  make  thy  belly  bitter, 
but  it  shall  be  in  thy  mouth  sweet  as  honey.  And 
I  took  the  little  book  out  of  the  angel's  hand,  and 
ate  it  up ;  and  it  was  in  my  mouth  sweet  as  honey ; 
and  as  soon  as  I  had  eaten  it  my  belly  was  bitter. 
And  he  said  unto  me.  Thou  must  prophesy  again 
before  many  peoples,  and  nations,  and  tongues, 
and  kings.     Rev.  x.  8-11. 


92     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

SACRED   NUMBERS 

"  The  frequent  occurrence  of  certain  numbers 
in  the  sacred  Hterature  of  the  Hebrews,"  says 
William  Smith  in  his  Dictionary  of  the  Bible, 
"  is  obvious  to  the  most  superficial  reader,  and  it 
is  almost  equally  obvious  that  these  numbers  are 
associated  with  certain  ideas." 

It  is  a  great  pity  that  man  has  lost  the  earliest 
meaning  of  those  numerical  symbols,  for  they 
all  have  a  significance,  and  among  the  learned  of 
the  ancients  they  represented  principles  of  nature 
so  closely  associated  with  the  nature  of  man,  that 
they  became  interwoven  with  their  religious  teach- 
ings. The  symbolical  meanings  were  known  only 
by  those  educated  in  the  science  of  spiritology ; 
hence  their  meanings  are  never  explained  from 
latter-day  pulpits. 

Prominent  among  those  symbolic  signs  are  the 
numbers  1,  2,  3,  7,  12,  40,  70,  144,  144,000. 
All  refer  back  to  the  principles  of  the  mathematics 
of  nature,  which  if  properly  understood  would 
unravel  the  mysteries  of  life.  The  only  cause 
of  unhappiness  among  men  is  the  disorder  of  the 
spiritual  man.  Our  bodies  may  become  dis- 
ordered and  give  us  pain,  but  that  does  not  nec- 
essarily bring  unhappiness. 

ONE 

The  number  one  and  its  multiples  comprehend 
all  of  numerical  nature.      Correspondingly  there 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS      93 

is  ONE  GOD,  the  comprehension  of  all  nature. 
One  is  divided  up  into  fractions,  but  yet  the  one 
is  always  an  integral.  The  essence,  power, 
beauty,  and  gradeur  of  God  are  manifest  in  every 
individual  thing  in  nature  and  all  partake  of  him, 
yet  GOD  IS  ONE.  The  intelligent  mind  can  elab- 
orate for  itself  the  principles  only  hinted  at  here. 

TWO 

Two  is  the  first  association  of  numbers.  Every- 
thing that  has  being  is  of  a  dual  nature.  There 
are  two  opposing  forces  in  everything,  a  positive 
and  a  negative.  It  is  by  the  power  of  those 
forces  that  the  heavenly  bodies  are  held  in  their 
proper  places  as  they  revolve  in  space  around  their 
central  magnets.  These  opposing  forces  of 
diverse  natures  are  so  nicely  adjusted  that  no  two 
atoms  really  ever  touch  each  other,  but  around 
each  is  a  minute  atmospheric  wall.  This  dual 
nature  is  represented  in  the  male  and  female 
natures  of  all  animal  life.  Animal  perpetuation 
could  not  be  continued  were  it  not  for  the  male 
and  female  elements  in  nature.  The  Master 
started  out  his  disciples  in  pairs,  for  "  in  union 
there  is  strength." 

THREE 

The  number  three  is  a  symbolic  sign  found  in 
the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  which  has  always  been 
a  knotty  question  among  theologians.  It  was 
the  question  that  divided  the  Arian  and  the  Alex- 
andrian sect  of  Christians  in  an  early  day  and 


94     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

which  induced  Constantine  to  convene  the  council 
of  Nice  in  the  year  324. 

The  plain  wording  of  the  Bible  does  not  teach 
the  doctrine  as  presented  by  theologians.  The 
only  passages  that  can  be  called  to  its  support  are 
these :  "  Go  ye  therefore  and  teach  all  nations  ; 
baptising  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of 
the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  "  The  grace  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  the  love  of  God,  and 
the  communion  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  with  you 
all.  Amen."  That  passage  in  I.  John  v.  7, 
which  reads,  *'  For  there  are  three  that  bear  record 
in  heaven,  the  Father,  the  Word,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  these  three  are  one,"  is  conceded  to 
be  spurious  and  is  omitted  in  the  Revised  Version 
of  the  New  Testament. 

These  spurious  passages  in  the  Bible  mar  the 
effect  of  the  whole,  yet  we  cannot  dispense  with 
it  because  of  those  frauds  any  more  than  we  can 
dispense  with  the  use  of  gold  as  a  medium  of 
exchange  because  there  are  counterfeit  coins  in 
circulation.  We  must  distinguish  the  true  from 
the  false  in  the  Bible  on  the  same  principle  that 
we  do  in  other  things,  exercising  our  best  judg- 
ment. In  the  above  quotation,  the  Father,  the 
Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  were  not  presented  as 
three  persons  in  one,  but  as  the  proper  wording 
of  ceremonies  which  were  recommended,  and 
nothing  more. 

Scientifically,  they  are  three  principles  of 
nature  in   one,   the   Infinite  Mind  that   corapre- 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS      95 

hends  everything  and  forms  everything  by  gen- 
eral rules  or  laws  of  nature,  the  physical  sub- 
stance of  all  things,  and  the  spirit  of  all  things. 
Those  are  the  three  component  elements  in  every 
man,  and  in  every  living  thing,  as  well  as  in  God. 
It  is  a  fact  which  all  must  admit  that  man  is  a 
trinity  within  and  of  himself.  If  we  rightly 
understand  the  Trinity,  we  can  readily  compre- 
hend the  divine  nature  of  the  Master.  Matter  is 
an  eternal  factor  of  nature.  It  never  had  a  be- 
ginning and  can  never  have  an  ending.  There 
is  in  nature  a  universal  spirit  and  a  universal 
mind,  or  intelligence.  Mind  is  the  great  combin- 
ing power  of  nature.  The  universal  mind,  or 
the  mind  of  God,  compounded  the  universe,  made 
the  world.  The  Master  was  a  child  of  prophesy ; 
he  came  for  a  purpose,  and  was  first  originated 
by  the  Divine  Will.  Mary  was  chosen  as  his 
mother  and  the  spirit  of  Intelligence  permeated 
her  being,  subdued  her  mind  to  spiritual  thoughts, 
and  conquered  the  flesh  by  the  power  of  the 
spirit.  She  conceived  in  that  state  of  mind  and 
brought  forth  a  child  of  exceptional  beauty, 
grace,  intelligence,  and  spiritual  endowments. 
He  was  an  especial  child  of  God,  that  is,  he  was 
cultured  by  Divine  thought  for  an  especial  pur- 
pose.    He  came;  the  purpose  was  fulfilled. 

A  knowledge  of  the  Trinity  is  of  great  im- 
portance to  man.  Rightly  understood  the  race 
will  evolve  to  a  higher,  grander,  and  better  con- 
dition. 


96     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

Let  us  analyze  the  three  persons  in  one  as  ap- 
plied to  man.  All  men  have  a  physical  nature. 
Our  first  duty  is  to  properly  care  for  the  physical 
man,  which  is  the  house  in  which  the  real,  the 
spiritual  man,  lives.  The  spiritual  man  cannot 
live  with  comfort  in  a  diseased,  defonued,  or  de- 
bauched house.  It  is,  then,  our  duty  to  study 
to  improve  the  nature  of  physical  man. 

In  the  culture  of  the  physical  we  should  not 
neglect  the  spiritual  man,  for  that  lives  forever 
and  goes  into  the  next  world  when  it  leaves  this, 
either  to  reap  the  rewards  of  a  well  spent  life,  or 
the  reverse,  according  to  the  seed  it  has  sown. 

To  be  a  person  of  purpose  or  worth,  the  intel- 
lect must  be  cultivated;  there  is  no  deformity  so 
great  as  that  of  the  mind,  for  mind  marks  the 
measure  of  man.  This  does  not  mean  that  one 
should  master  the  sciences  in  the  books,  but  it 
does  mean  that  one  should  learn  how  to  think  and 
to  think  well  on  all  subjects  within  the  life  of  the 
individual.  If  you  are  a  farmer,  be  an  intelligent 
farmer;  if  you  are  a  mechanic,  understand  your 
trade ;  if  you  are  a  housewife,  preside  with  dignity 
and  grace  over  your  family ;  in  short,  whatever  be 
your  calling,  be  the  master  of  that  calling,  but 
imbue  it  with  spiritual  thought. 

The  object  of  most  people  of  this  age  is  to 
accumulate  all  the  physical  comforts  of  life  to 
the  neglect  of  other  needs.  This  is  a  great  mis- 
take ;  while  the  comforts  of  the  physical  are  nec- 
essary, it  is  yet  far  better  to  be  stinted  in  worldly 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS      97 

goods  than  to  have  the  spirit  starved  and  the 
intellect  dwarfed,  for  you  cannot  take  your 
earthly  possessions  with  you,  and  you  do  go  with 
your  spiritual  wealth  and  mental  endowments. 
If  they  have  been  neglected  it  may  take  thousands 
of  years  in  which  to  right  the  wrongs  of  a  few 
years  of  earth  life.  You  live  for  yourself.  We 
make  our  own  spiritual  conditions,  no  one  else 
can  do  it  for  us,  therefore  we  should  study  well 
the  trinity  of  man  and  care  for  the  whole  person. 

In  the  very  beginning  of  the  Bible  narratives 
concerning  man  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  is 
laid  down,  but  it  is  done  in  an  allegorical  manner 
that  has  caused  it  to  be  overlooked;  so  for  thou- 
sands of  years  the  account  of  the  creation  of  man 
has  been  a  stumbling  block  to  the  skeptic  and 
unexplainable  to  the  theologian.  Yet  the  truth 
of  man's  creation,  or  rather  combination,  as  given 
in  Genesis  is  absolutely  true  and  scientific. 

"  And  the  Lord  God  formed  man  of  the  dust 
of  the  ground."  Mark  the  language;  the  Lord 
God  formed  man  of  the  dust  of  the  ground ;  he 
did  not  create  man,  but  formed  him.  Scientific- 
ally speaking  that  was  true.  Physical  man  is 
composed  of  seventeen  elements  of  the  earth.  He 
is  a  chemical  compound  so  far  as  his  physical 
is  concerned,  and  that  compound  comes  from 
the  earth.  It  makes  up  the  physical  man  which 
God  formed.  But  that  formation  did  not  make 
the  whole  man ;  there  were  other  elements  wanting. 
He  was  a  lifeless  lump  of  clay  or  dust,  and  would 


98      LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

have  always  remained  so  had  not  something  else 
occurred.  One  thing  lacking  was  life.  God 
breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life.  So 
far  we  have  the  physical  body  endowed  with  life ; 
but  he  was  not  yet  a  man,  he  had  only  two  ele- 
ments of  a  man.  When  the  breath  of  life  was 
breathed  into  his  nostrils  "  man  became  a  living 
soul."  First  the  physical  man,  then  the  life  prin- 
ciple, and  then  the  everlasting  soul.  This  Bible 
narrative  is  terse  and  beautiful.  The  writers  of 
the  Bible  simply  stated  facts,  often  hiding  their 
real  meaning,  which  was  left  to  those  schooled  in 
figurative  speech  to  interpret. 

FOUR 

This    number   finds    expression    in    "  the    four 

comers  of  the  earth"  ;  "  four  winds,"  Dan.  vii.  2  ; 

"  four   beasts   with   wings "    and   "  four   faces," 

Ezek.  i.  5 ;  "  four  rivers  of  Paradise,"  Gen.  ii.  10 ; 

"  four  beasts,"  Rev.  iv.  6 ;  "  foursquare,"  Ezek. 

xl.  47. 

SEVEN 

Seven  is  also  a  sacred  number,  a  building  num- 
ber, and  when  understood  we  may  see  its  sacred 
application. 

In  nature  there  are  certain  clusters  of  num- 
bers in  the  building  process;  for  instance,  there 
are  seven  days  in  the  week,  seven  stars  in  the 
Pleiades,  seven  sounds  or  tones  in  an  octave  of 
music,  seven  ages  of  man,  seven  senses, —  five 
physical  senses,  seeing,  hearing,  smelling,  tasting. 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS   99 

and  feeling,  and  two  spiritual  senses,  Intuition 
and  Psychomancy, —  and  seven  colors  to  the 
rainbow. 

Those  prismatic  colors  are  of  great  import- 
ance ;  they  are  violet,  indigo,  blue,  green,  yellow, 
orange  and  red.  Below  the  red  is  black,  above 
the  violet  is  white.  Now  man  emits  from  his 
aura  the  degree  or  color  in  which  he  lives  and 
which  controls  his  nature.  For  instance,  green 
is  the  medial  color ;  that  is  the  medium  station  of 
man.  When  he  sinks  below  this  medial  line  he  is 
on  the  downward  road  to  ruin,  when  he  rises  above 
it  he  is  in  the  order  of  progression.  When  he 
sinks  below  the  red  and  enters  into  the  realm 
of  black  he  is  lost  in  this  world  and  in  the  next. 
He  is  beyond  redemption.  When  he  evolves  to 
the  station  of  white  he  becomes  perfect,  but  he 
can  only  reach  that  state  in  the  after  life.  All 
of  this  will  be  fully  explained  as  we  continue  with 
our  work. 

In  the  degrees  of  the  Magi,  the  Order  of  Mel- 
chizedek,  there  are  associations  of  the  numbers 
three,  five,  seven,  ten,  and  twelve.  Among  the 
Jews  seven  is  the  number  of  perfection;  they  let 
their  lands  rest  every  seventh  year.  There  were 
seven  churches,  seven  vials  of  wrath,  seven 
heavens,  and  many  more  instances  in  which  the 
number  is  used  in  the  building  of  both  the  Jewish 
and  Christian  religions. 

Clark  in  his  Commentaries  says,  "  The  number 
seven,   which   was    a    sacred   number    among   the 


100      LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

Hebrews,  was  conveyed  by  them  down  to  the 
Greeks  by  means  of  the  Egyptian  philosophy, 
from  which  they  borrowed  most  of  their  mys- 
teries ;  and  it  is  most  likely  that  the  opinion  which 
the  Greeks  had  was  that  there  was  some  mystical 
idea  attached  to  it.  It  is  evident  from  its  being 
made  the  number  of  perfection  among  the  He- 
brews. Philo  and  Josephus  say  that  the  Essenes, 
an  ancient  sect  of  the  Jews,  held  it  sacred,  be- 
cause it  results  from  the  sides  of  a  square  added 
to  those  of  a  triangle.  But  what  meaning  does 
that  convey?  A  triangle,  or  triad,  according  to 
the  Pythagoreans,  who  borrowed  their  system 
from  the  Egyptians,  who  borrowed  from  the 
Jews,  was  the  emblem  of  wisdom,  as  consisting  of 
beginning  (Monad),  middle  (Duad),  and  end 
(Triad).  So  wisdom  consists  of  three  parts,  ex- 
pression of  the  past,  attention  to  the  present,  and 
judgment  of  the  future. 

"  It  is  also  the  most  penetrating  of  all  forms, 
being  the  shape  of  a  wedge,  and  indestructibility 
is  essential  to  it,  as  a  triangle  can  never  be  de- 
stroyed. From  these  three  properties  it  was  the 
emblem  of  spirit.  The  square,  solid,  and  tetrad, 
by  the  same  system  were  interchangeable  signs. 
Now  a  square  is  the  representation  of  a  solid,  or 
matter,  and  the  number  seven  contains  within 
itself  the  properties  of  both  the  triangle  and 
solid  and  the  square  or  tetrad ;  that  is  the  emblem 
of  body  and  spirit  and  comprehends  both  the 
intellectual   and   natural   world,    which    embraces 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS      101 

the  idea  of  God,  the  chief  of  spirits  or  essences, 
and  all  nature." 

The  number  7,  as  denoting  either  plurality 
or  completeness,  is  found  in  a  considerable  number 
of  Biblical  passages.  "  If  Cain  shall  be  avenged 
seven  fold,  truly  Lamech  seventy  and  seven  fold." 
Gen.  iv.  24.  "  Then  will  I  also  walk  contrary 
unto  you,  and  will  punish  you  yet  seven  times  for 
jiour  sins."  Lev.  xxvi.  24.  "  The  words  of  the 
Lord  are  pure  words ;  as  silver  tried  in  a  furnace 
of  earth,  purified  seven  times."  Psalms  xii.  6. 
"  The  Lord  shall  cause  thee  to  be  smitten  before 
thine  enemies ;  thou  shalt  go  out  one  way  against 
them,  and  flee  seven  days  before  them ;  and  shall 
be  removed  from  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth." 
Deut.  xxviii.  25. 

TEN 

Ten  is  the  perfect  number,  nine  integers  and 
one  cipher.  It  is  the  rounding  out  of  all  smaller 
numbers  and  the  opening  up  of  all  numerical 
mathematics. 

Ten  is  a  preferential  number, — 10  command- 
ments, the  law  of  tithes,  70  as  compounded  of 
ten  seven  times  seventy  fold.  "  Jesus  said  unto 
him,  I  say  not  unto  thee.  Until  seven  times ;  but 
until  seventy  times  seven."  Gen.  iv.  24.  "  The 
weight  whereof  was  a  hundred  and  thirty  shekels, 
one  silver  bowl  of  seventy  shekels."  Num.  vii. 
13-19.  "  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Gather 
unto  me  seventy  men  of  the  elders  of  Israel,  whom 


102     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

thou  knowest  to  be  the  elders  of  the  people,  and 
officers  over  them ;  and  bring  them  unto  the  tab- 
ernacle of  the  congregation,  that  thej  may  stand 
there  with  thee."     Num.  xi.  16. 

And  in  this  connection  Christ  sent  forth  his 
seventy  disciples.  In  making  one  of  the  transla- 
tions of  the  Bible  it  is  said  that  seventy  elders 
were  placed  in  separate  rooms,  and  were  kept 
there  seventy  days,  each  making  a  copj'  of  the 
Bible;  and  when  they  came  out  they  all  agreed. 
"  These  nations  shall  serve  the  king  of  Babylon 
seventy  years."     Jer.  xxv.  11. 

TWELVE 

That  the  Bible  was  originally  founded  on  sci- 
entific principles,  brought  from  the  Chaldeans  by 
Abraham  and  transmitted  through  liis  successors 
to  the  time  of  Jesus,  is  proved  by  the  number 
twelve,  which  runs  through  the  Bible  from  Gene- 
sis to  Revelations.  The  application  of  the  secret 
meaning  of  the  number  twelve  was  founded  on 
the  sciences  of  astronomy  and  mineralogy. 

There  are  twelve  signs  of  the  Zodiac,  discovered 
by  the  Chaldeans  long  before  the  birth  of  Abra- 
ham. To  those  signs  of  the  Zodiac  the  Chal- 
deans attached  the  science  of  astrology  which  was 
more  fully  noticed  under  the  head  of  "  The 
Zodiac."  The  characters  of  the  twelve  sons  of 
Jacob,  as  given  by  him  in  his  blessing  of  them, 
related  to  the  influence  the  twelve  signs  of  the 
Zodiac  manifested  on  people  born  under  them. 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS      103 

There  were  twelve  stones  in  the  breast-plate  of 
Aaron  which  had  their  secret  meanings.  There 
were  twelve  tribes  of  Israel,  twelve  apostles, 
twelve  manner  of  fruits  on  the  trees  whose  leaves 
were  for  the  healing  of  the  nations,  twelve  stones 
that  the  priests  carried  on  their  shoulders  to 
cause  the  waters  of  the  Jordan  to  lessen  that  the 
children  of  Israel  might  pass  over  the  river  in 
safety,  twelve  stars,  twelve  gates  to  the  Holy 
City,  and  twelve  stones  for  the  foundations. 

The  Holy  City  that  John  saw  coming  down 
from  heaven  was  typical  of  the  order  that  had 
been  the  binding  tie  of  fellowship  from  time  im- 
memorial among  the  Israelites. 

The  twelve  gates  of  the  city  represented  the 
twelve  degrees  of  the  order,  we  have  the  right 
to  suppose,  of  Melchizedek.  The  stones  of  the 
foundations  represented  the  principles  taught  in 
each  degree ;  those  twelve  stones  represented 
twelve  virtues  corresponding  to  the  twelve  months 
of  the  year. 

January,  the  first  month  of  the  year,  corre- 
sponds with  the  first  degree  of  the  order;  the 
stone  is  the  Jasper,  the  meaning  of  which  is 
Friendship,  Fidelity.  That  is  a  beautiful 
motto.  Friendship  is  the  basis  of  all  our  social 
relations,  while  Fidelity  is  a  virtue  of  inestimable 
worth. 

February  is  represented  by  the  Sapphire  which 
signifies  Light, —  light  of  knowledge,  light  of 
understanding,  Jesus,  the  light  of  the  world. 


104.     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

March  is  represented  by  the  Chalcedony.  The 
Chalcedony  signifies  Intelligence.  Those  enter- 
ing this  degree  must  exercise  their  minds,  must 
know  how  to  think,  for  no  person  can  achieve 
much  in  this  world  who  does  not  use  his  intellect 
and  act  with  an  intelligent  understanding. 

April  is  represented  by  the  Emerald,  which 
means  Wisdom.  We  must  cultivate  the  gift  of 
wisdom  if  we  wish  to  achieve  success  in  this  life. 
"  For  God  giveth  to  a  man  that  Is  good  in  his 
sight,  wisdom,  and  knowledge  and  joy;  but  to 
the  sinner  he  giveth  travail  to  gather  and  to  heap 
up."  Eccl,  ii.  26.  "  Wisdom  is  better  than 
rubies."     Prov.  viii.  11. 

May  is  represented  by  the  Sardonyx,  which 
means  Knowledge.  "  The  wise  layeth  up  knowl- 
edge ;  but  the  mouth  of  the  fool  is  near  destruc- 
tion." Prov.  X.  14.  "  So  are  the  paths  of  all 
that  forget  God ;  and  the  hypocrite's  hope  shall 
perish;  whose  hope  shall  be  cut  off,  and  whose 
trust  shall  be  a  spider's  web."  Job  viii.  13,  14. 
"  When  a  wicked  man  dieth,  his  expectation  shall 
perish ;  and  the  hope  of  unjust  men  perisheth." 
Prov.  xi.  7. 

June  is  represented  by  the  Sardius,  the  mean- 
ing- of  which  is  Faith.  It  is  the  head  of  that 
beautiful  Trinity  of  Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity. 
Have  faith  in  God,  faith  in  yourself,  and  faith  in 
the  mission  of  life.  "  Faith  is  the  substance  of 
things  hoped  for,  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen." 
Heb.  xi.  1. 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS      105 

July  is  represented  by  the  Chrysolite,  signify- 
ing Hope.  Without  hope  a  man  would  be  as  a 
ship  in  mid-ocean  without  a  rudder.  "  For  we 
are  saved  by  hope;  but  hope  that  is  seen  is  not 
hope."  Rom.  viii.  24.  "  The  hope  of  the 
righteous  shall  be  gladness,  but  the  expectation  of 
the  wicked  shall  perish."  Prov.  x.  28.  "  When 
a  wicked  man  dieth  his  expectation  shall  perish, 
and  the  hope  of  unjust  men  perisheth."  Prov. 
xi.  7. 

August  is  represented  by  the  Beryl,  whose 
meaning  is  Charity.  "  With  malice  toward  none 
but  with  charity  for  all  we  will  finish  the  work 
we  have  begun."  Lincoln.  "  And  now  abideth 
faith,  hope,  and  charit}^,  but  the  greatest  of 
these  is  charity."  I.  Cor.  xiii.  13.  "  Add  to 
your  faith  virtue ;  and  to  virtue  knowledge,  and 
to  knowledge  temperance,  and  to  temperance 
patience,  and  to  patience  godliness,  and  to  godli- 
ness brotherly  kindness,  and  to  brotherly  kindness 
charity."     II.  Peter  i.  5-7. 

September  is  represented  by  the  Topaz,  which 
signifies  Purity.  "  The  pure  in  heart  shall  see 
God."  "  He  that  hath  clean  hands  and  a  pure 
heart,  who  hath  not  lifted  up  his  soul  unto  vanity, 
nor  sworn  deceitfully ;  he  shall  receive  the  bless- 
ing from  the  Lord  and  righteousness  from  the 
God  of  his  salvation."  Psalms  xxiv.  4.  "  Fi- 
nally brethren,  whatsoever  things  are  true,  what- 
soever things  that  are  honest,  whatsoever  things 
are  just,  whatsoever  things  are  pure,  whatsoever 


106     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

things  are  lovely,  whatsoever  things  are  of  good 
report,  if  there  be  any  virtue  and  if  there  be  any 
praise,  think  on  these  things."  Phil.  iv.  8.  "  To 
the  pure  all  things  are  pure."  Titus  i.  15. 
"  Pure  religion  and  undefiled  before  God  and  the 
Father  is  this,  to  visit  the  fatherless  and  widows 
in  their  affliction,  and  keep  thyself  unspotted  from 
the  world."     James  i.  27. 

October  is  represented  by  the  Chrysoprase,  the 
meaning  of  which  is  Health.  This  is  a  very  im- 
portant degree  and  subject  to  think  upon. 
There  is  nothing  of  greater  concern  than  health. 
The  tenn  applies  not  onl}^  to  the  physical  man, 
but  to  the  mental  man  and  to  the  spiritual  man, — 
it  comprehends  the  whole  man.  No  one  can  be 
absolutely  happy  or  useful  who  has  not  a  healthy 
body.  A  sickly  body  impairs  the  whole  man 
to  some  extent.  As  there  are  diseases  of  the 
body  there  are  also  diseases  of  the  spirit  which  are 
far  more  to  be  dreaded  than  mere  physical  sick- 
ness. When  a  man  passes  to  the  next  stage  of  ex- 
istence all  his  bodily  ailments  are  left  behind,  but 
he  takes  his  spiritual  ailments  with  him,  for  the 
spirit  is  the  man.  The  ailments  of  the  spirit  are 
such  things  as  crime,  debauchery,  drunkenness, 
and  all  kinds  of  defilement.  All  such  are  spiritual 
diseases  and  in  some  instances  they  are  so  great 
and  dark  that  they  sink  the  soul  into  outer  dark- 
ness and  finally  into  annihilation.  "O  Lord  heal 
my  soul."  Psalms  xli.  4.  "  Why  should  ye  be 
stricken  any  more  ?     Ye  will  revolt  more  and  more. 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS      107 

The  whole  head  is  sick  and  the  whole  heart  is 
faint." 

November  is  represented  by  the  Jacinth,  which 
stands  for  Culture  or  Training.  "  Train  up  a 
child  in  the  way  he  should  go  and  when  he  is  old  he 
will  not  depart  from  it."  Prov.  xxii.  6.  Were 
it  not  for  our  culture  and  training  the  race  would 
relapse  into  the  condition  of  savagery.  Our  tend- 
ency is  backward  to  our  early  conditions  and  it 
is  only  constant  culture  and  training  that  keeps 
the  race  in  the  path  of  progress.  Every  child 
comes  into  the  world  in  absolute  ignorance  and  if 
there  were  no  one  to  train  him,  the  race  would 
gradually  return  to  cave-dwelling  and  vie  with 
the  beasts  for  mastery. 

December  is  represented  by  the  Amethyst, 
which  signifies  Perfection.  When  one  reaches 
the  twelfth  degree  he  is  presumed  to  be  perfect. 
That  of  course  is  impossible,  for  there  is  none 
perfect  save  God,  who  is  perfection  in  all  things. 
That  condition  is  not  expected  of  any  man,  but 
there  are  conditions  in  human  conduct  that  we 
call  perfection.  For  instance,  a  student  is  said  to 
be  perfect  in  his  studies  who  reaches  100.  We 
can  be  exemplary  in  our  conduct,  our  thoughts 
and  in  the  sphere  in  which  we  live ;  then  we  are 
in  human  perfection.  "  Mark  the  perfect  man, 
and  behold  the  upright,  for  the  end  of  that  man 
is  peace."  Ps.  xxxvii.  37.  "  There  is  no  fear 
in  love ;  but  perfect  love  casteth  out  fear,  because 
fear  hath  torment;  he  that  feareth  is  not  made 


108     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

perfect  in  love."  I.  John  iv.  18.  "  And  above 
all  things  put  on  charity  which  is  the  bond  of  per- 
fection."    Col.  iii.  14. 

Before  the  invention  of  figures  by  the  Arabs 
in  the  tenth  century  letters  of  the  alphabet  were 
used  for  numbers.  In  that  system  each  letter 
had  its  numerical  value,  the  true  estimate  of 
which  is  now,  in  a  measure,  lost  to  us.  The 
Greeks,  in  the  time  of  Homer  or  soon  thereafter, 
are  thought  by  some  to  have  assigned  to  their 
letters  a  numerical  value  corresponding  to  their 
order  in  the  alphabet,  and  it  may  be  presumed 
that  the  same  system  was  followed  by  the  Jews 
and  ancient  Christians.  According  to  that  sys- 
tem, men  were  classed  in  numerical  values  accord- 
ing to  their  moral  standing  or  religious  value  to 
the  church. 

The  heathen  gods  were  classed  as  beasts  and 
they  had  their  numerical  values  as  well  as  men. 
John  says  in  Revelations  (xiii.  18)  :  "  Here  is 
wisdom.  Let  him  that  hath  understanding  count 
the  number  of  the  beast ;  for  it  is  the  number  of  a 
man,  and  his  number  is  six  hundred,  three  score 
and  ten."  What  that  number  represents  no  one 
knows,  but  some  suppose  it  had  reference  to  the 
Latin  nation,  and  that  the  designation  of  beasts 
by  John  referred  to  different  nations ;  but  the 
better  judgment  is  that  it  was  a  spiritual  appella- 
tion valuing  men  according  to  their  faith  in  the 
religion  of  Jesus,  in  contradistinction  to  the 
heathen  worship  of  beasts,  the  heavenly  bodies, 
and  sentient  gods. 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS      109 

Pythagoras  placed  numbers  on  a  more  scien- 
tific basis;  he  maintained  that  nature  was  builded 
on  numbers,  in  fact,  "  the  being  of  God  could  be 
proved  by  mathematics."  Chemistry,  the  science 
of  all  sciences,  proves  that  every  combination  in 
nature  is  founded  on  atomic  numbers ;  that  the 
different  things  we  see  and  appreciate  about  us 
are  all  builded  on  numbers.  For  instance,  all 
woody  fibers  of  plants,  trees,  and  grasses  are  com- 
posed of  three  gases  —  oxygen,  hydrogen,  and 
carbon,  with  a  slight  tracing  of  nitrogen.  Take 
these  elements  and  arrange  the  atoms  differently 
and  we  have  compounds  of  a  different  nature. 
As  an  example,  take  the  same  elements  in  the  pro- 
portion of  twelve  parts  of  carbon,  eleven  parts 
of  nitrogen,  and  eleven  parts  of  oxygen,  and  we 
have  cane  sugar.  Take  twelve  parts  of  carbon, 
fourteen  parts  each  of  hydrogen  and  oxygen,  and 
we  have  grape  sugar.  Take  six  parts  of  carbon, 
seven  of  hydrogen,  and  six  of  oxygen,  and 
manna  sugar  is  the  result. 

THE  MAGI 

In  turning  backward  to  the  dawn  of  our  pres- 
ent civilization,  when  the  religions  of  the  world 
that  have  stood  the  tests  of  time  were  in  process 
of  formation,  we  look  with  much  favor  upon 
the  cult  known  as  the  Magi,  or  Wise  Men  of  the 
East.  It  was  they  who  sowed  the  seeds  of  Divine 
wisdom  along  the  Euphrates,  the  valley  of  the 


110     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

Tigris,  the  Persian  gulf,  and  perhaps  Egypt, 
whence  it  spread  into  other  countries. 

From  the  time  of  the  degeneracy  of  man  and 
the  introduction  of  sin  into  the  world,  through 
prophesies  then  made,  a  Redeemer,  to  come  at 
some  time,  was  looked  for.  These  prophesies 
were  not  confined  to  Biblical  prophets  alone,  but 
the  Magi  had  them  as  well ;  in  evidence  of  that 
fact  we  need  but  call  attention  to  the  conduct  of 
the  wise  men  who  were  guided  by  a  star  from 
"  the  East  "  to  Jerusalem  at  the  time  of  the  birth 
of  the  Savior.  According  to  the  best  authorities, 
those  men  came  from  about  the  Persian  gulf,  or 
the  valley  of  the  Euphrates.  It  was  a  long 
journey  from  there  to  Bethlehem,  and  they  must 
have  started  on  their  journey  some  time  before 
the  actual  birth  of  the  child  Jesus.  However,  it 
is  evident  that  they  were  informed  of  the  ap- 
proaching event  in  advance  from  the  fact  that 
they  came  laden  with  rich  presents  of  gold,  frank- 
incense, and  myrrh  for  the  new-born  king  of  the 
Jews. 

In  the  Hebrew  text  of  the  Old  Testament  the 
word  Magi  occurs  but  twice,  and  then  only  inci- 
dentally, Jer.  xxxix.  3  and  13.  In  those  in- 
stances it  is  under  the  name  of  "  Rab-mag," 
which,  being  interpreted,  is  "  Magi." 

These  Magi  were  skilled  scientists,  so  far  as  the 
sciences  were  developed  at  that  time.  •  They 
understood  astronomy,  and  astrology  so  far  as  it 
was  useful.     They  were  psychics,  and  communed 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS      111 

with  the  gods  and  received  information  from  the 
Source  of  spiritual  knowledge,  as  did  the  proph- 
ets of  the  Bible  and  later  the  Apostles.  They 
held  the  esteem  of  the  heads  of  the  government 
of  the  Achaian  kings.  Even  Cyrus  the  Great 
always  had  one  of  the  Magian  priests  with  him. 

William  Smith,  in  his  Dictionary  of  the  Bible, 
says :  "  Historically  the  Magi  are  conspicuous 
chiefly  as  a  Persian  religious  cast.  Herodotus 
connects  them  with  another  people  by  reckoning 
them  among  the  sixth  tribe  of  the  Medes,  (1,101). 
They  appear  in  his  history  of  Astyages  as  inter- 
preters of  dreams,  (1,120).  But  as  they  appear 
in  Jeremiah  among  the  retinue  of  the  Chaldean 
king,  we  must  suppose  Nebuchadnezzar's  con- 
quests led  him  to  gather  around  him  the  wise  men 
and  religious  teachers  of  the  nations  which  he 
subdued,  and  that  thus  the  sacred  tribe  of  the 
Medes  rose  under  his  rule  to  favor  and  power. 
The  Magi  took  their  places  among  '  the  astrol- 
ogers and  star-gazers  and  monthly  prognosti- 
cators.'  It  is  with  such  men  that  we  have  to 
think  of  Daniel  and  his  fellow  exiles  as  asso- 
ciated." 

It  is  evident  that  Daniel  and  the  Magi  possessed 
the  same  occult  powers  and  belonged  to  the  same 
class  of  spiritual  scientists,  for  Daniel  was  made 
chief  of  the  Order.  When  Belshazzar  was  in  a 
drunken  revelry,  with  his  princes,  their  wives,  and 
his  wives  and  concubines,  there  came  forth  the 
fingers  of  a  man's  hand  and  wrote  over  against 


112     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

the  candlesticks  upon  the  plaster  of  the  wall  of 
the  king's  palace,  and  the  king  saw  the  part  of 
the  hand  that  wrote.  He  cried  aloud  for  the 
Chaldean  soothsayers  and  astrologers  to  interpret 
the  writing,  but  could  find  none.  But  he  was 
told  "  not  to  let  thy  countenance  be  changed, 
there  is  a  man  in  the  kingdom  in  whom  is  the 
spirit  of  the  holy  gods ;  and  in  the  days  of  thy 
father  light  and  understanding  and  wisdom,  like 
the  wisdom  of  the  gods,  was  found  in  him,  whom 
the  king,  Nebuchadnezzar,  thy  father,  the  king, 
I  say,  thy  father,  made  master  of  the  magicians, 
astrologers,  Chaldeans  and  soothsayers."  Dan. 
V.  5,  11. 

The  above  passage  explains  in  part  the  mean- 
ing of  the  Holy  Ghost  as  used  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. In  Daniel  it  was  called  the  spirit  of  the 
holy  gods.  Josephus  says :  "  When  Belshazzar 
heard  this,  he  called  for  Daniel,  and  had  dis- 
course with  him  what  he  had  learned  concerning 
him  and  his  wisdom  and  how  a  Divine  spirit  was 
with  him,  and  that  he  alone  was  capable  of  find- 
ing out  what  others  would  never  have  thought 
of."  Daniel  was  endowed  with  the  power  of  the 
holy  spirit  while  he  was  a  prisoner  under  the 
Babylonian  king,  for  he  was  but  a  child  when  he 
was  captured  and  taken  to  Babylon  a  prisoner. 
The  office  under  Belshazzar  that  Daniel  accepted 
was  identical  with  that  of  Rab-mag,  chief  of  the 
Magi. 

The  Magi  stood  in  the  same  relation  to  the 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS      113 

Zoroastrian  religion  that  the  Apostles  did  to  the 
Christian  religion  and  their  religions  are  alike  in 
all  important  essentials,  except  in  the  former 
Zoroaster  was  the  worshipful  head,  while  in  the 
Christian  religion  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Master  and 
high  priest,  according  to  the  order  of  Melchize- 
dek. 

The  Zoroastrians  believed  in  one  Supreme 
Ruler  of  the  universe,  the  creator  of  all  things ; 
the  Christian  religion  teaches  the  same.  The 
Zoroastrian  religion  taught  the  fact  of  a  future 
existence;  the  Christian  religion  does  the  same. 
The  Zoroastrians  believed  in  a  resurrection ;  so  do 
the  Christians.  They  believed  in  the  existence  of 
right  and  wrong,  spiritual  light  and  darkness ; 
so  do  the  Christians.  The  basic  principles  of 
morality  are  the  same  in  both  cults,  only  the 
Zoroastrian  religion  is  greatly  simplified  and 
contained  in  three  sentences,  the  terseness  and  sim- 
plicity of  which  are  unsurpassed;  they  compre- 
hend the  totality  of  man's  duties,  which  are, 
"  have  right  thoughts,  right  words,  right  acts," 

We  must  not  imagine  for  a  moment  that  the 
great  Christian  S3'^stem  of  religion  was  the  sudden 
outburst  of  religious  thought  crystallized  for  the 
occasion.  Verily,  the  Christian  religion  is  the 
fruitage  of  the  purposes  of  God  indicated  to  man 
and  kept  before  his  mind  among  various  peoples 
and  in  different  ages  from  the  time  the  Divine 
information  was  imparted  to  the  discomfited  sub- 
jects of  sin  that  "  the  seed  of  the  woman  should 


114     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

bruise  the  serpent's  head,"  until  the  confirmation 
witnessed  in  the  bleeding  body  of  our  Lord  and 
Master  was  made  transcendentally  beautiful  in 
the  most  sublime  prayer  that  ever  arose  from  the 
lips  of  god  or  man,  "  Father,  forgive  them. 
They  know  not  what  they  do." 

Following  the  sublime  devotion  of  Daniel,  not- 
withstanding the  wickedness  of  the  chosen  people 
and  their  many  estrangements  from  the  paths  of 
duty,  there  remained  sufficient  devout  men  to 
keep  the  truth  alive,  even  among  the  Jews,  or, 
more  particularly,  that  Jewish  sect  known  as  the 
Essenes,  whom  even  the  wicked  Herod  held  in 
high  esteem,  excusing  them  from  taking  an  oath 
which  he  imposed  on  the  rest  of  his  subjects,  of 
fidelity  and  good-will  toward  him  and  his  man- 
agement of  public  affairs.  The  practices  and 
belief  of  the  Essenes  were  along  the  line  of  those 
of  the  apostles,  and  no  doubt  were  the  connecting 
links  between  the  doctrines  of  Melchizedek  and 
that  of  our  Master.  "  They  are  eminent  in 
fidelity,"  says  Josephus,  "  and  are  the  ministers 
of  peace;  whatsoever  they  say,  also,  is  firmer 
than  an  oath;  but  swearing  is  avoided  by  them 
and  they  esteem  it  worse  than  perjury ;  for  they 
say.  He  that  cannot  be  believed  without  swearing 
by  God  is  already  condemned.  They  also  take 
great  pains  in  studying  the  writings  of  the 
ancients  and  choose  out  of  them  what  is  of  the 
most  advantage  for  their  soul  and  body." 

The  resemblances  between  the  doctrines  of  the 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS      115 

Essenes  and  the  teachings  of  the  New  Testament 
are  very  striking,  especially  in  the  usage  of 
swearing.  Jesus  in  his  instructions  on  the  sub- 
ject says,  "  But  I  say  unto  you.  Swear  not  at  all, 
neither  by  heaven,  for  it  is  God's  throne ;  nor  by 
the  earth,  for  it  is  his  foot-stool ;  nor  by  the  city 
of  Jerusalem,  for  it  is  the  city  of  the  great  King ; 
neither  shall  thou  swear  by  thy  head  because 
thou  canst  not  make  one  hair  white  or  black." 
Matt.  V.  34-36.  "But  above  all  things,  my 
brethren,  swear  not,  neither  by  heaven,  neither 
by  earth,  neither  by  any  other  oath ;  but  let  your 
yea  be  yea  and  your  nay  nay,  lest  you  fall  into 
condemnation."     James  v.  12. 

THE  GARDEN  OF  EDEN 

The  Paradise  of  Pleasure,  as  the  Garden  of 
Eden  is  called  by  the  Orientals,  was,  in  fact,  more 
than  a  myth,  and  of  a  more  substantial  character 
than  Biblical  students  are  wont  to  give  it.  While 
some  of  the  language  descriptive  of  that  favored 
tract  of  country  is  a  play  upon  words  and  of  a 
fictitious  character,  yet  there  was  a  real  basis  on 
which  the  fabrication  was  builded. 

Follow  the  course  of  the  Tigris  and  the 
Euphrates  from  the  Persian  gulf  up  to  their 
head-waters  in  the  Armenian  mountains,  the 
source  also  of  the  Araxes  and  Phasis,  the  Phasis 
wending  its  way  to  the  Uxine  sea  while  the  Araxes 
flows  to  the  Caspian  sea.  The  country  consists 
of  the  uplands  and  mountainous  districts  of  Ar- 


116     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

menia  and  the  pleasant  valley  in  which  the 
Euphrates  and  Tigris  meet  and  through  which 
they  gently  flow  to  join  their  refreshing  waters 
to  those  of  the  Persian  gulf. 

It  was  there,  before  the  sin  of  corruption  crept 
in  and  despoiled  the  people,  that  the  blessings  of 
heaven  smiled  upon  the  world  and  all  the  joys 
of  life  were  showered  upon  the  inhabitants. 
Water  was  drawn  from  the  valley  by  a  system  of 
irrigation  that  enabled  the  land  to  yield  abund- 
antly to  the  skill  of  the  husbandmen.  The  cli- 
mate was  salubrious,  the  country  healthy,  the 
people  moral  and  intelligent,  and  possessed  of 
everything  needful  for  all  the  comforts  of  life. 
What  more  did  they  need  to  make  them  happy.'' 
Did  they  not  really  possess  the  Paradise  of  Pleas- 
ure.? and  were  they  not  a  blest  and  favored  peo- 
ple.? And  they  would  have  remained  so,  perhaps, 
through  the  ages,  had  not  they  partaken  of 
the  forbidden  fruit  of  sin  by  neglecting  the  civic 
pursuits  of  life  and  strayed  from  the  paths  of 
virtue  and  right  living.  They  gave  themselves 
over  to  the  red  hand  of  war,  stimulated  by  avarice 
and  fed  on  the  blood  and  ruin  of  surrounding 
nations.  But  these  nations  in  time  turned  upon 
their  victorious  neighbors  and  drove  them  away 
from  their  homes,  razed  their  cities  and  temples, 
leaving  nothing  to  witness  their  former  greatness. 
In  place  of  the  once  thrifty  and  happy  people  of 
the  valley  of  the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris,  wild 
and  savage  people  possess  the  wastes.     In  conse- 


BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  JESUS      117 

quence  of  the  destruction  of  the  drainage  system 
of  the  country,  poisonous  miasmas  rise  and  the 
country  is  uninhabitable  save  by  the  barbarians 
who  run  wild  in  its  waste  places.  Thus  most  liter- 
ally is  fulfilled  the  prophesy:  And  Bab3'lon,  the 
glory  of  kingdoms,  the  beauty  of  the  Chaldees'  ex- 
cellency, shall  be  as  when  God  overthrew  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah.  It  shall  never  be  inhabited, 
neither  shall  it  be  dwelt  in  from  generation  to 
generation:  neither  shall  the  Arabian  pitch  tent 
there ;  neither  shall  the  shepherds  make  their  fold 
there.  But  wild  beasts  of  the  desert  shall  lie 
there;  and  their  houses  shall  be  full  of  doleful 
creatures ;  and  owls  shall  dwell  there,  and  satyrs 
shall  dance  there.  And  the  wild  beasts  of  the 
islands  shall  cry  in  their  desolate  houses,  and 
dragons  in  their  pleasant  palaces:  and  her  time 
is  near  to  come,  and  her  days  shall  not  be  pro- 
longed.    Isaiah  xiii.  19-22. 

From  this  Garden  of  Eden,  this  Paradise  of 
Pleasure,  the  inhabitants  were  driven  by  the  fiat 
of  Infinite  justice,  literally  fulfilling  the  allegory 
of  the  fall  of  man  and  the  loss  of  Eden. 


Ill 

THE  CONDITIONS  WHEN  JESUS 
CAME 

There  are  three  great  factors  in  human  nature 
that  influence  society.  One  is  man's  physical 
energy,  which  always  leads  him  forward  in  the 
great  battles  of  life,  such  as  business,  commerce, 
trade,  the  building  of  cities,  and  all  kinds  of 
physical  and  mental  activities.  This  physical 
nature  of  man  leads,  when  rightly  directed,  to  all 
that  is  useful  and  ennobling  to  society.  It  also 
has  its  evil  side,  but  evil  is  nothing  more  than  the 
prostitution  of  good,  which,  when  extended  to  ex- 
tremes, leads  on  to  war,  carnage,  murder,  crime, 
debauchery,  and  the  ills  of  human  depravity  in 
all  its  forms. 

These  conditions  were  threatening  the  Jews 
when  the  Master  came.  They  believed  in  and 
cultivated  a  kind  of  theocracy,  deriving  its  vir- 
tues, as  they  supposed,  direct  from  God,  as  inter- 
preted by  their  priests  and  prophets.  Fraternity 
had  no  place  among  them ;  they  oppressed  the 
weak  and  dependent ;  encouraged  strife,  seditions, 
and  conspiracies.  They  were  a  jealous,  arrogant, 
superstitions,  revengeful  people. 

The  same  grasping  and  aggressive  nature,  so 
prominent  among  the  Jews,  is  characteristic  in 
118 


CONDITIONS  WHEN  JESUS  CAME     119 

some  degree  of  other  nations  and  peoples.  Hu- 
man nature  varies  somewhat  at  times,  as  circum- 
stances and  environment  change ;  but  humanity  is 
generally  about  the  same  the  world  over.  Our  ani- 
mal natures  are  always  at  war  with  our  spiritual, 
and  if  we  do  not  maintain  a  continual  eflPort  for 
our  betterment  as  a  race,  we  will  soon  lose  the 
glory  of  a  high  civilization.  The  demands  of  the 
physical  man  are  sufficient  to  keep  his  physical 
nature  active  and  aggressive ;  but  the  spiritual 
man  is  more  passive,  and  needs  a  constant  and 
persistent  effect  to  keep  him  from  lapsing  into  a 
state  of  barbarism.  That  was  almost  the  condi- 
tion of  the  Jews  when  Jesus  came  among  them  as 
their  Savior. 

At  that  time  man's  worst  enemy  was  man ; 
Might  was  the  arbiter  of  Right.  Smarting  un- 
der the  Roman  yoke,  the  Jews  had  become 
restless,  discontented,  and  arrogant.  As  an  inde- 
pendent nation  they  had  ceased  to  exist.  All  po- 
litical and  religious  rights  had  been  taken  from 
them.  In  their  religion  they  adhered  to  the  old 
Jewish  rites ;  but  religion  did  not  influence  their 
society  to  its  betterment.  All  the  abominations 
of  the  flesh  and  deviltries  of  the  mind  were  in 
practice  among  them,  with  no  better  results 
among  the  Romans.  They,  too,  were  lustful, 
cruel,  and  grasping,  encouraging  the  spirit  of 
war  as  a  pastime  and  conquest  as  a  virtue.  They 
sought  greatness  through  the  force  of  arms. 

To  modify  these  conditions  and  to  lead  men  to 


120     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

a  higher  plane  and  to  nobler  ideals  was  the  mis- 
sion of  Jesus.  Another  factor  greatly  influenc- 
ing society  is  the  art  of  controlling  men  and  the 
organization  of  society  through  the  strength  and 
cultivation  of  the  mind,  to  which  the  physical  ac- 
tivities of  our  natures  ought  to  be  subordinated. 
In  this  factor  of  man's  development  the  Greeks 
held  the  first  rank.  While  they  were  not  a  race 
submissive  to  the  demands  of  others,  they  were 
primarily  an  intellectual  people,  having  attained 
the  highest  perfection  of  culture  in  many  fields 
of  learning,  as  philosophy,  poetry,  oratory, 
sculpture,  painting,  architecture,  and  mathe- 
matics. 

The  leading  minds  among  the  Greeks  hoped 
to  found  a  theory  of  government  and  establish 
society  on  a  higher  plain  by  the  cultivation  of  the 
intellect  and  by  subordinating  the  individual  to 
the  rules  of  good  government  through  philoso- 
phy, and  by  that  means  secure  the  highest  degree 
of  happiness  and  stability  to  the  people ;  but  in 
that  they  failed,  for  intellect  alone  is  not  suffi- 
cient to  round  out  a  perfect  life,  either  in  the  in- 
dividual, family,  societ}^  or  government :  there  is 
something  else  needed  beside  intellect,  v/ithout 
which  there  can  be  no  permanent  happiness, 
contentment,  or  lasting  success.  An  object  les- 
son is  to  be  observed  in  comparing  the  present 
condition  of  Greece  with  Its  former  greatness. 
The  Grecian  philosophy,  as  such,  is  the  pride 
and  admiration  of  all  men,  but  as  a  political 
factor  It  was  a  failure. 


CONDITIONS  WHEN  JESUS  CAME    121 

Where  now  is  Greece,  that  Greece  of  ancient  lore? 

The  same  sun  lights  its  mild  and  mellow  skies; 
The  same  waters  gird  its  firm  and  rocky  shore; 

The  same  mountains,  their  lofty  heads  arise. 

Yet  present  Greece  is  smiling  Greece  no  more; 

She  seems  now  but  the  pall  of  humbled  pride; 
The  cause  of  which  our  sympathies  deplore; 

And  mourn  the  course  through  which  her  greatness 
died. 

The  classic  tongue  may  name  Demosthenes, 
And  cite  the  forum  of  his  glory  won; 

Or  may  recount  the  deeds  of  Pericles; 
But  cannot  boast  of  such  another  son. 

Th'  face  of  proud  Athens,  whose  learning  and  skill, 
Has  won  from  the  world  its  fondest  esteem; 

But  the  breath  of  Decay  encumbered  her  will 
And  her  greatness  fled  away  like  a  dream. 

Where  now  is  Greece  and  the  pride  of  her  isles. 
Where  Pindar  sang  and  Sappho  lov'd  and  wrote? 

Her  learning  now  but  through  memory  smiles; 
Which  students  con  and  stately  scholars  quote. 

Minerva  and  the  Pantheon  combine 

To  render  Phidias  ever  after  known. 
Less  only  in  the  sculptor's  art  divine, 

Compare  they  to  the  matchless  Laocoon. 

Thy  stylus  stands  unrivaled,  Apelles; 

Thy  brush  gave  Alexander  form  and  grace. 


122     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

While  he  was  moulding  nations  to  his  please. 
On  canvas  flattered  you,  his  sturdy  face. 

The  learn'd  to  Euclid  yet  must  go  to  school. 
By  theorums  get  the  solid  of  a  hole  — 

Pythagoras  found  a  Deity  by  rule; 

And  through  numbers  proved  that  man  has  a  soul. 

When  knights  of  arms  seek  prowess  in  the  field. 
And  wish  their  names  enrolled  in  verse  or  song, 

With  glave  untarnish'd  at  the  talest  wield. 
And  shout  Miltiades  and  Marathon. 

There  iEschylus  took  his  majestic  flights; 

And  sightless  Homer,  by  his  songs  sublime. 
Made  rules  to  guide  the  lesser  lights, 

That  flood  a  willing  world  with  vapid  rhyme. 

Design  of  architect  and  workmen's  skill. 
On  Elgin  stone  and  architraves  of  gold; 

The  Acropolis  claims  our  wonder  still. 
And  makes  us  bow  to  master  eons  old. 

Greece  spoke  through  her  grandeur,  and  lived  in  her 
men; 

Gilded  the  pride  of  the  world  by  her  fame ; 
But  now  she  is  weak  as  strong  she  was  then  — 

She  lives  to-day  in  the  shades  of  her  name. 

The  stern  hand  of  Time  has  crumbled  her  walls, 
The  night  of  her  past  has  shadowed  her  domes; 

The  spires  of  her  fanes  her  glory  appalls, 

And  Greece  has  disgraced  the  name  that  she  owns. 


CONDITIONS  WHEN  JESUS  CAME    123 

No  champering  steed  sniffs  the  battle  afar; 

No  panoplied  youth  feels  the  pride  of  his  race; 
The  monk  in  his  stole  glooms  the  face  of  her  star. 

And  Greece  wears  the  shroud  of  Greece  in  dis- 
grace. 

In  the  field  of  the  intellect  the  Greeks  led  all 
other  nations,  and  we  cannot  say  they  have  been 
surpassed  since.  Although  we  excel  them  in  the 
arts  of  industry  and  in  the  development  of  the 
sciences  for  the  welfare  of  the  race,  and  are  now 
enjoying  a  higher  culture  than  has  before  blessed 
humanity,  yet  with  all  of  our  greatness  we  go  to 
school  to  the  ancients  in  many  things.  We  are 
a  practical  people,  subordinating  our  lives  and 
our  political  destinies  to  the  dictates  of  reason, 
softened  by  a  fraternal  love  and  spiritual  aspira- 
tion that  blend  the  two  worlds  into  one. 

The  third  factor  that  permeates  the  nature  of 
man  is  the  possession  of  those  uplifting  qualities 
so  fully  exemplified  in  the  life  of  Jesus.  It  is  the 
culture  of  his  soul,  the  expansion  of  his  intellect, 
the  development  of  his  moral  nature.  Jesus  in- 
culcated the  feeling  of  the  tenderest  love  and  the 
warmest  sympathy  for  those  in  distress.  The  cry 
of  the  poor,  the  want  of  the  widow,  the  helpless- 
ness of  the  orphan,  and  the  grief  of  the  broken- 
hearted were  concerns  of  great  importance,  which 
he  urged  both  by  precept  and  practice.  He  fed 
the  spirit  of  charity  on  the  honey  of  kindness, 
and  cast  the  saving  looks  of  compassion  on  the 
steps   of  the  wayward.     He  went   down  to   the 


124     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

dregs  of  this  world  and  opened  a  way  through 
the  gloom  of  death  to  a  life  eternal.  He  ever 
emphasized  the  double  principle  of  the  Golden 
Rule :  "  Do  not  unto  others  that  which  you  would 
not  have  others  do  unto  you,"  to  which  he  added 
as  an  affirmative  duty  enjoined  upon  all,  "Do 
unto  others  that  which  you  would  have  others  do 
unto  you." 

By  the  cultivation  of  the  spirit  of  the  teach- 
ings of  Jesus,  men's  energies  will  be  rightly  and 
properly  directed  to  the  benefit  of  each  individual 
and  of  society.  To  disregard  his  teachings  is  to 
resolve  ourselves  back  into  the  condition  of  the 
Jews,  smarting  under  the  curse  of  God  when 
Jesus  came  to  save  them ;  but  they  would  not,  and 
to-day  they  are  reaping  their  harvest  of  sorrows. 

THE  JEWS 

In  the  time  of  Jesus,  the  Jews  were  divided  up 
into  several  sects,  chief  among  which  were  the 
Pharisees,  Sadducees,  and  Essenes.  The  most  pop- 
ular was  the  Pharisees ;  they,  according  to  Jose- 
phus,  appointed  for  the  people  a  great  many 
observances  that  came  down  from  their  fathers, 
not  written  in  the  law  of  Moses,  and  for  which 
reason  the  Sadducees  reject  them  and  adhere  to 
the  written  word  alone.  No  traditions  not  found 
in  the  written  law  are  to  be  observed ;  hence  great 
disputes. 

The  Sadducees  were  able  to  pursuade  none 
but  the  rich,  the  populace  not  being  obsequious 


CONDITIONS  WHEN  JESUS  CAME     125 

to  them ;  but  the  Pharisees  had  the  multitude  on 
their  side.  The  Pharisees  lived  meanly  and  de- 
spised delicacies  in  diet.  They  folloAved  the  dic- 
tates of  reason  and  deemed  that  all  things  were 
done  by  fate.  While  men  might  act  as  they  see 
fit,  whether  virtuously  or  viciously,  yet  God  had 
so  arranged  all  things  that  his  will  predominated. 
They  also  believed  the  soul  to  be  immortal,  and 
that  under  the  earth  there  were  rewards  and  pun- 
ishments according  to  the  deeds  of  this  life. 

The  Sadducees  acknowledged  only  the  written 
law  and  objected  to  the  obligatory  character  of 
all  traditions.  They  denied  the  existence  of  spir- 
its and  angels  in  general,  and  held  that  the  soul 
died  with  the  body,  with  neither  rewards  nor  pun- 
ishments after  death.  They  also  denied  special 
providence  and  made  all  human  actions  solely 
dependent  on  the  will  of  men. 

The  Essenes,  according  to  Philo,  were  a  society 
of  piously  disposed  men  who  in  solitude,  on  the 
western  shores  of  the  Dead  Sea,  sought  a  retreat 
from  the  corruptions  and  conflicts  of  the  world. 
They  lived  an  austere  life,  held  their  property  in 
common,  wore  a  white  robe,  prayed  and  meditated 
continually,  made  frequent  ablutions,  and  for  the 
most  part  renounced  marriage.  They  sacri- 
ficed no  animals.  They  condemned  logic,  meta- 
physics, and  even  the  physical  sciences,  as  useless. 
They  gave  attention  to  ethics,  recognized  no  au- 
thority but  their  own  sacred  books,  and  taught 
the  equality  of  men.     They  have  often  been  com- 


126     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

pared  with  the  old  Hebrew  School  of  Prophets, 
the  Greek  Pythagoreans,  the  Stoics,  Christian 
monks  and  modern  Quakers.  De  Quincey  has 
sought  to  identify  them  with  the  early  Christians, 
who,  surrounded  by  dangers,  assumed  the  name 
and  mode  of  life  of  the  Essenes  as  a  disguise, 
alike  impenetrable  to  Jewish  or  Roman  enemies 
and  to  timid  and  treacherous  brethren. 

Dark,  indeed,  was  society  under  those  condi- 
tions, still  more  deeply  and  severely  disturbed  by 
the  political  conditions  of  the  countr}^  The 
Jews,  to  whom  Jesus  was  sent,  were  embittered 
against  one  another  on  account  of  religious  dif- 
ferences, and  against  the  whole  world  because  of 
their  subjugation  by  the  Roman  power.  At  no 
worse  time,  and  under  no  more  discouraging  con- 
ditions, could  Jesus  have  come  as  a  pacifier,  peace- 
maker, and  spiritual  leader.  There  seemed  to  be 
no  defined,  pacific  policy  among  the  people.  Dis- 
sensions, contentions,  jealousies  reigned  supreme, 
with  no  hope  of  a  better  condition. 

Then  Jesus  came  to  lead  them  into  a  better  life 
and  a  better  condition,  but  his  offers  were  refused 
and  his  blood  shed  on  the  cross. 

JOHN  THE   BAPTIST 

The  life  of  Jesus  cannot  be  written  without  a 
sketch  of  the  life  and  mission  of  John  the  Bap- 
tist, for  he  was  the  avenue  through  which  the 
old  dispensation  passed  into  the  new,  the  bridge 
between  the  Old  and  the  New  Testament.     John 


CONDITIONS  WHEN  JESUS  CAME     127 

the  Baptist  was  the  son  of  Zacharias,  who  was  a 
priest  of  the  course  of  Abia  of  the  eighth  suc- 
cession. The  course  of  Abia  was  a  special  branch 
of  the  Aaronic  priesthood  inaugurated,  it  is  sup- 
posed, by  David  and  set  over  a  particular  course 
of  service  of  the  Temple. 

When  the  priesthood  was  first  established  among 
the  Hebrews  by  Moses,  it  was  made  an  inheritable 
office  6,nd  confined  to  the  tribe  of  Levi.  The 
office  was  a  very  important  and  responsible  one. 
The  high  priest  presided  over  the  Temple,  admin- 
istered at  sacrifices,  and  exercised  authority  in 
all  ceremonial  and  religious  affairs  of  the  Israel- 
ites. At  first  they  were  men  of  probity,  judg- 
ment, and  character ;  but  toward  the  last  the  posi- 
tion became  disgraced  and  lost  favor  with  the 
people  from  the  fact  that  many  of  the  priests  were 
ignorant,  brutal  in  nature,  and  unfitted  for  their 
high   calling. 

But  in  the  person  of  Zacharias  God  raised  up  a 
pure-minded,  God-fearing  and  capable  servant. 
His  wife  was  Elizabeth,  one  of  the  daughters  of 
Aaron,  thus  bringing  to  their  son  the  full  heritage 
of  the  office  of  priest  from  Aaron  down.  Eliza- 
beth was  a  righteous  woman,  meek,  lowly,  fear- 
ing God,  and  walking  blameless  in  all  the  com- 
mandments and  ordinances  of  the  Lord,  as  did 
her  husband,  Zacharias.  They  were  both  well 
stricken  in  years  and  had  no  child.  In  the  first 
chapter  of  Luke  we  find  that  Zacharias  went 
alone  into  the  temple,  while  the  multitude  remained 


128     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

in  prayer  on  the  outside.  At  that  solemn  hour 
the  angel  Gabriel  came  and  conversed  freely  with 
Zacharias,  instructing  him  what  he  should  do, 
and  inf onning  him  that  his  wife  should  bear  him 
a  son,  whose  name  should  be  called  John.  The 
same  angel  afterwards  appeared  unto  Mary,  the 
mother  of  Jesus,  foretelling  to  her  the  coming 
of  that  event  in  her  life  which  was  later  to  change 
so  marvelously  the  subsequent  history  of  the 
world. 

Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus,  and  Elizabeth,  the 
mother  of  John,  were  cousins,  but  Elizabeth  was 
much  the  older.  Nothing  is  heard  of  John  from 
his  birth  until  he  commenced  to  preach  in  the 
wilderness,  at  the  age  of  thirty ;  his  age  at  that 
time  is  put  at  thirty  because  under  the  law  no 
one  was  allowed  to  preach  until  he  was  thirty 
years  old,  for  he  had  to  undergo  the  ceremony  of 
annointment,  which  could  only  be  administered  at 
that  age.  John  and  Jesus  were  both  learned  in 
the  Law  of  IsrFtcl.  They  were  cousins  and  of 
about  the  same  age,  John  being  somewhat  older, 
and  began  their  ministrations  at  about  the  same 
time. 

Where  did  they  become  learned  and  developed? 
The  books  are  silent  on  those  points,  but  it  is 
evident  that  they  went  to  school  somewhere,  or  else 
they  must  have  had  the  gifts  of  God  to  know 
without  studying.  In  the  development  and  prep- 
aration for  spiritual  work,  it  is  necessary  to 
be   disengaged   from   all   worldly    complications. 


CONDITIONS  WHEN  JESUS  CAME     129 

Quiet,  rest,  and  sweet  communion  with-  nature 
are  essential.  All  those  who  have  made  an  im- 
pression on  the  world  as  great  reformers  through 
spiritual  unfoldment  have  gone  to  the  seclusion 
of  hill  countries  and  mountain  recesses,  and  there 
communed  with  tlie  spirit  of  nature.  When  I 
say  the  spirit  of  nature,  I  would  not  restrict  the 
term,  for  the  spirit  of  nature  in  its  broadest  ap- 
plication permeates  everything,  and  vitalizes  ev- 
erything with  intelligence. 

John  and  Jesus  may  have  learned  the  science 
of  spiritual  manifestation  among  the  wise  men  of 
the  East  who  saw  the  star,  or  it  may  have  been  a 
natural  development;  but  we  have  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  it  was  self -cultivated,  judging  from 
the  processes  of  development  of  other  great  re- 
formers. Buddha  was  a  mountain  recluse  for 
seven  years  before  he  came  before  the  world  as  an 
oracle  of  God,  during  which  time  he  lived  on  the 
coarsest  of  diet  and  spoke  to  no  man. 

Mohammed  secluded  himself  from  society  for 
five  years,  living  as  a  recluse  in  the  Himalaya  moun- 
tains. We  have  no  reason  to  believe  that  John 
took  the  same  course  of  spiritual  development, 
for  it  is  recorded :  "  Now  in  the  fiftieth  year  of  the 
reign  of  Tiberius  Caesar,  the  word  of  God  came 
to  John,  the  son  of  Zacharias  in  the  wilderness, 
and  he  came  into  all  the  country  about  Jordan, 
preaching  the  baptism  of  repentance  for  the  re- 
mission of  sins."  Luke  iii.  1-3.  That  was  an  out- 
pouring of  the  spirit  of  God  upon  him  as  he 


130     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

walked  and  talked  with  his  God  in  the  solitude  of 
the  primeval  forests  of  Judea. 

Jesus  went  through  the  same  process.  When 
he  was  baptized  of  John  the  heavens  were  opened 
and  the  Holy  Ghost  descended  in  a  bodily  shape 
like  a  dove  upon  him,  and  a  voice  came  from 
heaven,  which  said,  "  Thou  art  my  beloved  son, 
in  whom  I  am  well  pleased."  Jesus  being  full  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  returned  from  Jordan,  and  was 
led  by  the  spirit  into  the  wilderness,  and  after  he 
was  there  tempted  by  the  Devil  and  fasted  for 
forty  days,  he  returned  with  the  power  of  the 
spirit  into  Galilee  and  commenced  his   ministry. 

John  was  called  the  Baptist  from  the  fact  that 
he  baptized  the  people  with  water.  John's  bap- 
tism was  to  take  the  place  of  the  old  Jewish  rites 
of  circumcision.  Circumcision  was  a  physical 
act  by  which  the  body  was  consecrated  to  the 
service  of  the  Lord,  with  a  figurative  covenant 
on  the  part  of  God  that  he  would  care  for  the 
individual,  as  would  also  the  nation  at  large, 
John's  baptism  was  a  spiritual  baptism,  in  which 
the  spirit  was  consecrated  to  God  through  a  water 
baptism,  as  the  body  had  been  through  circum- 
cision. 

John  did  not  claim  that  his  was  a  perfect  bap- 
tism, only  a  bodily  rite  indicating  cleanliness 
before  God ;  for  he  says,  "  I  indeed  baptize  you 
with  water;  but  one  mightier  than  I  cometh,  the 
latches  of  whose  shoes  I  am  not  worthy  to  unloose. 
He  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and 


CONDITIONS  WHEN  JESUS  CAME     131 

with  fire."  "  For  by  one  spirit,"  say .  Paul,  "  are 
we  all  baptized  into  one  body,  whether  we  be  Jews 
or  Gentiles,  whether  we  be  bond  or  free ;  and 
have  been  all  made  to  drink  into  one  Spirit." 
I.  Cor.  xii.  13.  "  There  is  neither  Jew  nor 
Greek,  there  is  neither  bond  nor  free ;  there  is 
neither  male  nor  female,  for  ye  are  all  one  in 
Jesus  Christ."  Gal.  in.  28.  "  For  there  is  no 
difference  between  the  Jew  and  the  Greek,  for  the 
same  Lord  over  all  is  rich  unto  all  that  call  upon 
him ;  for  whosoever  call  upon  the  name  of  the 
Lord  shall  be  saved."    Rom.  x.  12,  13. 

The  baptism  of  John  was  not  the  baptism  of 
Jesus;  John's  was  of  water,  as  a  token  of  the 
cleansing  of  the  body ;  that  of  Jesus  was  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire  for  the  cleansing  of  the 
soul.  Fire  was  typical  of  purification,  while  the 
Holy  Ghost  was  that  spiritual  gift  that  initiated 
the  subject  into  the  mysteries  of  the  unseen  world. 
No  one  can  be  baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost  un- 
less he  is  pure  in  mind,  in  body,  and  spirit.  There 
are  some  through  whom  the  spirit  can  manifest 
itself  who  have  not  been  baptized  by  the  Holy 
Ghost, —  those  who  sell  their  gifts  to  whosoever 
will  buy ;  but  they  are  of  the  order  of  black  magic, 
and  their  works  are  the  works  of  the  devil.  As 
an  example,  turn  to  the  eighth  chapter  of  Acts. 
While  Philip  was  preaching  Christ  unto  the  peo- 
ple of  Samaria,  they  believed  and  were  baptized 
by  water;  but  there  was  a  certain  man  called 
Simon,  who  had  been  practicing  sorcery  and  be- 


132    LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

witching  the  people  through  his  powers.  Behold- 
ing the  great  powers  of  Philip,  he  was  baptized  of 
him  and  continued  with  Philip  for  some  time, 
*'  Beholding  the  miracles  and  signs  which  were 
done." 

Peter  and  John  then  came  to  Samaria.  Up  to 
this  time  the  Holy  Ghost  had  not  fallen  on  any 
of  them  that  were  baptized  of  Philip  in  the  name 
of  Jesus  Christ.  Note  that  the  baptism  in  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ  alone  was  not  sufficient  to 
endow  the  supplicant  with  the  gifts  of  the  Holy 
Ghost;  there  was  something  more  needed, —  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  When  Peter  and 
John  went  to  Samaria,  they  imparted  the  power 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  by  the  laying  on  of  hands, 
with  the  enchantments  incident  to  a  pure  heart, 
full  faith,  and  dedication  of  the  life  to  the  service 
of  the  Lord. 

"  And  when  Simon  saw  that  through  the  lay- 
ing on  of  the  apostles'  hands  the  Holy  Ghost 
was  given,  he  offered  them  money."  But  Peter 
indignantly  refused  it,  saying,  "  Thy  money  per- 
ish with  thee,  because  thou  hast  thought  that  the 
gift  of  God  may  be  purchased  with  money.  Thou 
hast  neither  part  nor  lot  in  this  matter;  for  thy 
heart  is  not  right  in  the  sight  of  God.  Repent 
therefore  of  this  thy  wickedness,  and  pray  God, 
if  perhaps  the  thought  of  thine  heart  may  be 
forgiven  thee." 

John  came  in  the  fulfillment  of  the  prophesy, 
"  The  voice  of  him  that  crieth  in  the  wilderness, 


CONDITIONS  WHEN  JESUS  CAME     133 

prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  straight 
in  the  desert  a  highway  for  our  God."    Isa.  xl.  3. 

Note  the  difference  between  the  doctrines  of 
John  and  those  of  Jesus.  John's  were  moral 
and  referred  to  the  duties  of  this  world,  while 
those  of  Jesus  were  also  of  the  highest  type  of 
morality  and  personal  duty,  but  went  further: 
they  pointed  also  to  a  future  life.  "  And  the 
people  asked  John,  What  shall  we  do  then.?  He 
answered  and  said  unto  them.  He  that  hath  two 
coats,  let  him  impart  to  him  that  hath  none,  and 
he  that  hath  meat  let  him  do  likewise.  Then 
came  also  publicans  to  be  baptized,  and  said 
unto  him,  Master,  what  shall  we  do?  John  an- 
swering said.  Exact  no  more  than  is  appointed 
you.  To  the  inquiring  soldier  he  said,  Do  vio- 
lence to  no  man,  neither  accuse  any  falsely,  and 
be  content  with  your  wages." 

John  imparted  the  highest  Jewish  morality  to 
the  people,  commanding  that  which  was  right  and 
condemning  that  which  was  wrong.  He  neither 
cajoled  the  great  nor  slighted  the  poor,  and  for 
this  his  young  life  paid  the  penalty. 

Herod  was  tetrarch  of  Galilee  and  his  brother 
Philip  tetrarch  of  Ituraea.  Philip  died,  leaving  a 
widow  whom  Herod  then  married.  This  act  being 
wrong,  John  had  the  courage  to  reprove  Herod 
of  that  and  other  wrongs  of  his,  which  greatly 
enraged  the  governor,  who  would  have  killed  him 
on  the  spot  but  for  the  great  esteem  in  which 
John  was  held  by  the  people,  who  looked  upon 


134<    LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

him  as  a  great  pi-ophet;  but  with  his  own  hands 
he  arrested  John  and  put  him  in  prison.  The 
consummation  of  his  spleen  came  shortly  after- 
wards when,  on  the  occasion  of  the  birthday  of 
Herod,  the  daughter  of  Herodias,  his  wife,  danced 
before  the  tetrarch  and  assembled  guests  so  charm- 
ingly that  Herod,  in  a  fit  of  ecstacy,  swore  to 
the  maiden  to  give  her,  in  token  of  his  apprecia- 
tion of  her  performance,  anything  that  she  might 
ask  of  him.  Being  advised  by  the  mother  so  to 
do,  whose  hatred  of  John  for  not  approving  of 
her  iniquities  was  unrelenting,  she  demanded  that 
Herod  give  her  the  head  of  John  in  a  charger. 
This  bloody  request  was  complied  with,  and  thus 
perished  a  most  beautiful  life,  the  forerunner  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  took  up  the  work 
where  John  left  off. 

JOSEPH 

Joseph,  the  father  of  Jesus,  was  an  old  man, 
a  poor  carpenter  struggling  for  existence  by  the 
practice  of  his  trade.  He  was  of  the  tribe  of  Ju- 
dah  and  a  direct  descendant  from  David.  Nothing 
is  known  as  to  when  or  where  he  was  born ;  nor  is 
it  shown  when  he  died,  but  it  is  supposed  that  it 
was  before  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus. 

Before  his  betrothal  to  Mary  he  lived  in  Beth- 
lehem, but  afterwards  he  went  to  Nazaretli,  where 
he  probably  lived  during  the  remainder  of  his 
life.  Joseph  was  the  father  of  several  children 
by  his  first  wife,  before  he  was  married  to  Mary. 


CONDITIONS  WHEN  JESUS  CAME     135 

Joachim,  the  father  of  Mary,  was  a  direct  de- 
scendant from  David,  as  was  Anna,  the  mother  of 
Mary. 

The  betrothal  of  Mary  to  Joseph  is  rather 
amusing  as  presented  by  the  Apocryphal  New 
Testament,  as  follows :  "  When  Mary  had  arrived 
at  the  years  of  puberty,  the  priests  who  had  her  in 
keeping  in  the  temple  met  in  council  and  said, 
'  Behold,  Mary  is  twelve  years  of  age ;  what  shall 
we  do  with  her,  for  fear  lest  the  holy  place  of  the 
Lord  our  God  be  defiled  ? '  Then  replied  the 
priests  to  Zacharias,  the  high  priest,  '  Do  you 
stand  at  the  altar  of  the  Lord,  and  enter  into 
the  holy  place  and  make  petitions  concerning  her, 
and  whatsoever  the  Lord  shall  manifest  unto  you, 
that  do.'  Then  the  high  priest  entered  into  the 
Holy  of  Holies,  and  taking  away  with  him  the 
breastplate  of  judgment,  made  prayers  concern- 
ing her.  And  behold,  the  angel  of  the  Lord  came 
unto  him  and  said,  '  Zacharias,  go  forth  and  call 
together  all  the  widowers  among  the  people  and 
let  everyone  of  them  bring  his  rod,  and  he  by 
whom  the  Lord  shall  shew  a  sign  shall  be  the 
husband  of  Mary.'  "  Protevangelium,  viii. —  XI 
Apocryphal  New  Testament. 

The  proclamation  went  forth,  and  on  a  cer- 
tain day  all  the  widowers  came  to  the  temple  as 
directed.  They  brought  their  rods.  The  high 
priest  took  them  and  went  into  the  temple  to  pray. 
After  he  had  finished  praying  he  distributed  the 
rods  among  those  from  whom  he  had  received  them. 


136    LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

The  last  one  was  given  to  Joseph,  They  were 
ordered  to  present  their  rods ;  at  first  there  was 
no  manifestation.  The  high  priest  then  went 
back  into  the  temple  and  inquired  of  God  the 
cause  of  the  failure,  and  he  was  informed  that  all 
had  not  presented  their  rods ;  one  had  been  held 
back.  The  high  priest  returned  and  repeated  his 
order  to  present  the  rods ;  that  time  Joseph 
presented  his  and  a  dove  proceeded  out  of  his 
rod  and  flew  on  the  head  of  Joseph.  And  the 
high  priest  said,  "  Joseph,  thou  art  the  person 
chosen  to  take  the  virgin  of  the  Lord  and  keep 
her  for  him."  Joseph  took  her  to  his  own  house 
and  said,  "  Behold,  I  have  taken  thee  from  the 
temple  of  the  Lord  and  now  I  will  leave  thee 
in  my  house  and  go  to  mind  my  trade  of  build- 
ing. The  Lord  be  with  thee."  Protevangelium, 
Chap,  viii,  Apocrj^phal  New  Testament. 

Women  in  those  days  had  no  choice  of  hus- 
bands ;  the  father  or  guardian  bestowed  the  hand 
of  the  maiden  on  whom  he  pleased.  In  this 
manner  a  man  betroths  his  wife,  that  is,  contracts 
to  make  her  his  wife  at  some  future  day.  It  was 
customary  among  the  Jews  after  the  betrothal 
to  leave  the  wife  with  her  parents  for  a  consider- 
able length  of  time,  that  the  man  might  go  home 
and  put  his  house  in  order  for  the  reception  of 
his  wife.  This  was  an  imperative  law  among 
the  Jews.  "And  what  man  is  there  that  hath 
betrothed  a  wife  and  hath  not  taken  her,  let  him 
go  and  return  unto  his  own  house,  lest  he  die  in 


CONDITIONS  WHEN  JESUS  CAME     13T 

battle  and  another  man  take  her."     Deut.  xx.  7. 

In  conformity  with  this  law,  it  is  recorded  in 
the  book  of  Mary,  chap.  vi.  6,  7 :  "Accordingly, 
the  usual  ceremony  of  betrothal  being  over,  he 
returned  to  his  own  city  of  Bethlehem,  to  set  his 
house  in  order  and  make  the  needful  provisions 
for  the  marriage ;  but  the  Virgin  of  the  Lord, 
Mar}^,  with  seven  other  virgins  of  the  same  age, 
who  had  been  weaned  at  the  same  time  and  who 
had  been  appointed  to  attend  her  by  the  priest, 
returned  to  her  parents'  house  in  Galilee.'* 

Joseph,  on  returning  from  his  home  and  work, 
according  to  the  legend,  found  Mary  in  a  delicate 
condition,  which  disconcei-ted  him  very  much ; 
he  did  not  know  what  to  do  about  it.  He  thought 
first  to  put  her  away  secretly,  that  scandal  might 
not  fall  upon  him  and  Israel. 

While  he  was  meditating  on  these  things,  be- 
hold, the  angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  unto  him 
in  a  dream,  and  said,  "  Joseph,  son  of  David, 
fear  not.  Be  not  willing  to  entertain  any  sus- 
picion of  the  Virgin's  being  guilty  of  fornication, 
or  to  think  anything  amiss  of  her,  neither  be  afraid 
to  take  her  to  wife,  for  that  which  is  begotten  in 
her  and  distresses  your  mind  is  not  the  work  of 
man,  but  the  Holy  Ghost ;  for  she  of  all  women 
is  the  only  virgin  who  shall  bring  forth  the  Son 
of  God.  And  you  shall  call  his  name  Jesus, 
that  is  Savior,  for  he  will  save  his  people  from 
their  sins."     Mary,  viii.  8-1^. 

Upon  that  assurance  Joseph  married  her.     The 


138      LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

onl}'  book  of  the  canonical  New  Testament  that 
mentions  the  betrothal  of  Joseph  to  Mary  and  the 
peculiar  dilemma  is  Matthew,  where  the  record 
is  very  short  and  very  much  in  the  language  of 
the  book  of  Mary ;  in  fact,  the  authorship  of  the 
book  of  Mary  is  attributed  to  Matthew. 

Because  of  the  ignorance  of  those  ages,  in  order 
to  impress  upon  the  minds  of  the  people  the  fact 
of  a  Divine  interposition  in  the  affairs  of  men, 
extraordinary'  stories  had  to  be  invented  and  ex- 
travagant language  used,  as  if  God  did  every- 
thing in  order  in  the  affairs  of  nature,  but  used 
very  extraordinary  methods  in  the  concerns  of 
religion,  whereas  the  manifestations  of  God  in  the 
affairs  of  men  are  the  most  simple  and  plain 
manifestations  of  nature, 

NAZARETH 

Nazareth,  the  childhood  home  of  Jesus,  lies 
nestled  in  the  hills  of  lower  Galilee,  about  sixty- 
five  miles  due  north  from  Jerusalem.  Of  all  the 
places  in  the  Holy  Land,  or  perhaps  in  the  world, 
there  could  be  no  more  fitting  place  for  the  resi- 
dence of  two  such  holy  personages  as  Jesus  and 
I\Iary  his  mother.  The  inhabitants  were  made  up 
of  mixed  peoples  ;  among  them  were  Greeks,  Rom- 
ans, Gentiles,  and  different  sects  of  the  Jews, 
the  Pharisees,  Sadducees  and  Essenes.  Their  lives 
were  cinide  and  simple ;  for  that  reason  the  Nazar- 
enes  were  a  people  despised  by  the  Judeans. 

Nazareth  was  tucked  away  in  a  small  vale  of 


CONDITIONS  WHEN  JESUS  CAME    139 

the  mountains,  on  a  low  cone  not  more  than  seven 
hundred  yards  long  by  three  hundred  yards  wide, 
with  towering  hills  surrounding  it  that  almost 
shut  out  the  sky.  Singular  as  it  may  appear, 
Nazareth,  during  its  long  life,  which  dates  back 
beyond  the  memory  of  history,  has  never,  so  far 
as  we  know,  been  disturbed  by  internal  strife  or 
torn  by  the  ravages  of  war,  except  during  the 
crusades,  and  thus  it  seems  to  speak  in  silent 
tongue  the  admonitions  of  "  peace,  peace,"  the 
injunction  of  the  Master  to  his  followers.  But 
in  sight  of  the  town  lies  the  plain  of  Asdraelon, 
which,  strewn  with  the  bones  of  slain  victims, 
stretches  from  the  Jordan  on  the  east  thirty'  miles 
westward  to  the  Mediterranean,  thence  on  to  the 
hills  of  Samaria,  and  over  which,  for  four  thou- 
sand years,  have  swept  the  armies  of  victor}-  and 
defeat. 

The  simplicity  of  this  lowly  place  is  striking 
to  a  marked  degree;  it  is  unpretentious  and  sim- 
ple; its  buildings  are  made  of  the  rough  stones 
of  the  country,  without  care  for  style.  The 
furniture  of  the  houses  is  of  the  most  simple 
kind.  A  rug  on  a  dirt  floor,  a  chest,  and  in 
some  houses  stools  for  chairs  made  up  the  furnish- 
ings. Nazareth  was  not  laid  off  with  streets  and 
squares,  as  in  towns  of  our  day.  The  houses  are 
arranged  in  irregular  positions,  with  narrow  paths 
leading  to  them. 

West  of  the  town  rises  a  hill  five  hundred  feet 
high.     To  the  southwest    may  be  seen  the  dark 


140     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

ridge  of  Mt.  Carmel,  which  appears  to  be  a  foot- 
way to  the  sky,  for  over  its  gray  summit  the  blue 
canopy  of  heaven  seems  to  hang ;  while  be^^ond, 
the  sparkling  waters  of  the  IMediterranean  seem 
spread  out  as  a  bed  for  the  sinking  sun.  On  the 
east  rises  bold  Gilboa ;  and  a  little  to  the  west  may 
be  seen  the  summit  of  Little  Hermon,  where  Saul, 
forsaken  by  his  God,  fell  upon  his  sword  to  escape 
capture  in  that  memorable  battle  foretold  to  him 
by  the  spirit  of  Samuel  through  the  instrumen- 
tality of  the  witch  of  Endor.  A  few  miles  south 
and  east  of  Nazareth  towers  the  round  top  of 
Mt.  Tabor,  as  a  lone  sentinel  in  the  great  valley 
of  Estraelon,  which  for  better  evidence  we  will 
designate  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration,  where 
Peter,  James,  John  and  Jesus  received  a  holy 
visitation  from  the  spirits  of  Moses  and  Elias, 
and  Jesus  was  transfigured  before  them. 

In  this  sequestered  vale  of  Nazareth,  shut  out 
from  the  contentions  of  the  world,  Mary,  the 
mother  of  Jesus,  was  bom  and  reared.  There 
is  something  about  the  life  and  appearance  of 
Mary  that  pen  cannot  describe.  The  maidens  of 
the  town  of  Nazareth  are  recognized  to  this  day 
as  possessing  that  Semitic  type  of  graceful  beauty 
which  elicits  the  admiration  of  all  visitors.  The 
same  beauty  of  womanly  perfection  rested  upon 
that  place  when  Mary,  the  richest  flower  of  the 
coming  fruitage  of  God,  smiled  among  them. 
The  sweet  charms  of  maiden  beauty  rested  upon 
her  well-formed  features,  and  through  her  dreamy, 


CONDITIONS  WHEN  JESUS  CAME     141 

eyes  was  revealed  a  soul  of  transcendent  purity. 
With  grace  of  movement  she  was  not  strikingly 
unlike  her  maiden  companions,  but  was  the  central 
attraction  among  them. 

It  was  the  duty  and  pleasure  of  Mary,  with  her 
companions,  to  go  with  her  pitcher  to  the  north 
part  of  the  town  each  evening  to  get  water  from 
the  Virgin  Spring,  as  it  has  since  been  called  in 
memory  of  Mary.  The  spring  was  the  common 
resort  at  that  time,  but  now  the  trough  from  which 
she  filled  her  pitcher  has  succumbed  to  the  rav- 
ages of  time,  and  the  stream  itself  is  now  but  a 
muddy  waste. 

Through  all  the  events  of  the  ages,  from  the 
time  when  Belshazzar  saw  the  handwriting  on  the 
wall  in  his  drunken  revelry  up  to  the  advent  of 
our  Savior,  the  directing  hand  of  Omniscience 
threw  around  this  town  of  Nazareth  that  quiet, 
simple,  unobtrusive  atmosphere  the  essence  of 
v/hich  Jesus  imbibed  and  reflected  to  the  world  all 
through  his  life  and  teachings.  In  looking  over 
the  events  and  circumstances  that  made  it  neces- 
sary for  a  Christ  to  appear,  filled  with  the 
knowledge  that  would  lead  man  out  of  the  tram- 
mels of  darkness  into  the  effulgent  rays  of  spirit- 
ual light,  there  seems  to  be  that  coherence  of 
conditions,  events,  and  surroundings  through  all 
the  ages,  from  the  time  of  Abraham  to  the  raising 
of  the  cross  on  Calvary,  which  renders  it  abso- 
lutely impossible  that  the  story  of  Nazareth  is 
a  fabrication  conjured  up  for  the  occasion.    Bom 


in     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

in  poverty,  reared  in  indigence,  surrounded  by 
simplicity,  Jesus  made  his  advent  into  the  world. 
It  is  among  the  meek  and  lowly  that  the  great  and 
pure  thoughts  are  bom  to  which  our  souls  turn 
for  their  elevation  and  enrichment. 


THE  VIRGIN  MARY 

In  the  contemplation  of  the  life  of  the  Master, 
our  minds  involuntarily  go  back  to  the  source 
of  his  physical  existence,  his  mother,  the  Virgin 
Mary.  For  the  first  six  hundred  years  of  our 
era  she  was  worshipped  as  a  divine  personage  by 
the  Gnostics,  a  kind  of  compromising  sect  em- 
bracing modified  opinions  of  Plato,  Pythagoras, 
Aristotle,  Heraclitus  and  Empedocles  and  blend- 
ing them  in  the  theology  of  the  early  Christians. 
They  maintained  that  our  Lord  had  two  natures, 
the  human  and  the  divine,  that  the  human  was 
of  him  until  his  baptism,  when  he  became  divine 
by  the  voice  of  God.  This  view  was  condemned 
by  the  council  of  Ephesus  in  the  year  431.  At 
that  council  Mary  was  decreed  the  "  Mother  of 
God."  The  object  was  not  to  honor  the  mother, 
but  to  maintain  the  true  doctrine  with  reference 
to  the  divinity  of  her  son,  Jesus.  Nevertheless, 
it  did  magnify  the  mother  and  now  the  worship 
of  the  mother  is  growing  apace  with  that  of  the 
son. 

Mary,  like  Joseph,  was  of  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
and  of  the  lineage  of  David.     The  Biblical  allu- 


CONDITIONS  WHEN  JESUS  CAME     143 

sion  is  the  authority  for  calling  Mary  of  the 
lineage  of  David.  "  The  Lord  hath  sworn  in 
truth  unto  David ;  he  will  not  turn  from  it ;  of 
the  fruit  of  thy  body  will  I  set  upon  thy  throne." 
Ps.  cxxxil.  11.  Were  we  left  alone  to  the  New 
Testament,  the  history  of  Mary  would  be  scant 
indeed,  for  she  is  mentioned  but  four  times  in  the 
Bible  after  the  commencement  of  Jesus's  ministry. 
Once  at  the  marriage  feast  at  Cana  of  Galilee, 
John  xi. ;  her  attempt  to  speak  to  Jesus  when  he 
was  assembled  with  his  disciples.  Matt.  xii.  6, 
46;  Mark  iii.  21,  31;  Luke  viii.  19;  at  the 
crucifixion,  John  xix.  26 ;  at  a  gathering  of  the 
disciples  at  Jerusalem,  Acts  i.  14. 

Were  it  not  for  the  Apocryphal  New  Testa- 
ment, we  should  know  nothing  of  the  birth,  pa- 
rentage, or  early  life  of  the  mother  of  our  Lord. 
From  it  we  get  the  following  information:  Mary 
sprang  from  the  royal  race  and  family  of  David ; 
she  was  born  in  the  city  of  Nazareth,  and  was 
educated  at  Jerusalem,  'n  the  temple  of  the  Lord. 
Her  father's  name  was  Joachim  and  her  mother's 
Anna.  The  family  of  her  father  was  of  the  city 
of  Nazareth ;  the  family  of  her  mother  was  of 
Bethlehem.  Their  lives  were  plain  and  right 
in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  pious  and  faultless  be- 
fore men ;  for  they  divided  all  their  substance 
into  three  parts,  one  of  which  they  devoted  to 
the  temple  and  officers  of  the  temple,  another 
they  distributed  among  strangers  and  persons  in 
poor  circumstances,  and  the  third  they  reserved 


144     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

for  themselves  and  the  use  of  their  own  family. 
Mary   i.    1-4. 

As  was  the  custom  among  the  Jews,  they  had  a 
yearly  feast  at  the  temple,  but  the  offerings  of 
none  were  considered  acceptable  before  the  Lord 
unless  they  were  married  and  had  issue.  Joachim 
and  Anna  were  unfortunate  in  this  respect ;  they 
had  lived  together  about  twenty  years,  chastely, 
without  any  children.  When  the  high  priest  saw 
Joachim  coming  with  the  rest  of  his  neighbors, 
bringing  his  offering,  he  accosted  Joachim  and 
asked  why  he,  who  had  no  children,  should  pre- 
sume to  appear  among  those  who  had.  This  so 
discomfited  Joachim  that,  instead  of  going  to  his 
home,  he  isolated  himself  from  his  neighbors  and 
dwelt  with  the  shepherds  in  the  field,  where  he 
prayed  to  the  Lord  to  remove  his  shame  and  give 
him  issue,  that  his  offerings  might  be  acceptable 
and  his  standing  among  his  neighbors  be  regained. 

One  day  while  Joachim  was  alone,  the  angel  of 
the  Lord  stood  by  him  in  a  prodigious  light  and 
the  angel  said  to  him,  "  I  am  an  angel  of  the 
Lord  sent  by  him  to  you,  that  I  might  inform  you 
that  your  prayers  are  heard;  therefore  Anna, 
your  wife,  shall  bring  forth  a  daughter  and  you 
shall  call  her  name  Mary.  She  shall,  according 
to  3'our  vow,  be  devoted  to  the  Lord  from  her 
infancy,  and  be  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost  from 
her  mother's  womb.  She  shall  neither  eat  nor 
drink  anything  which  is  unclean,  nor  shall  her 
conversation  be  without  among  the  common  peo- 


CONDITIONS  WHEN  JESUS  CAME     145 

pie,  but  in  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  that  she  may 
not  fall  under  any  slander  or  suspicion  of  what 
is  bad."  At  the  same  time  an  angel  appeared 
unto  Anna,  his  wife,  saying,  "  Fear  not,  neither 
think  that  which  you  see  is  a  spirit,  for  I  am  that 
angel  who  hath  offered  up  your  prayers  and 
alms  before  God,  and  I  am  now  sent  to  you  to 
inform  you  that  a  daughter  will  be  born  unto 
you,  who  shall  be  called  Mary  and  shall  be  blessed 
above  all  women."  In  due  course  of  time  a  daugh- 
ter was  born  unto  the  marriage  of  Joachim  and 
Anna,  and  at  the  age  of  three  years  they  took 
her  to  the  temple  of  the  Lord  and  delivered  her 
to  the  keeping  of  the  priest,  where  she  remained 
until  her  betrothal  to  Joseph  as  his  wife.  The 
betrothal  of  Mary  and  Joseph  came  about  in  this 
manner:  she  was  kept  in  the  temple  and  was  edu- 
cated there  with  other  children  of  her  own  age. 
During  her  infancy  she  had  daily  intercourse  with 
angels,  and  every  day  she  received  visits  from  God, 
which  preserved  her  from  all  kinds  of  evil  and 
caused  her  to  abound  in  good  things,  so  that  at 
length,  when  she  had  arrived  at  the  age  of  four- 
teen years,  she  became  very  popular  in  her  con- 
versation and  her  purity  of  life,  and  the  priests 
concluded  that  she  should  become  a  wife.  To 
this  she  objected  because  of  the  fact  that  her 
life  had  been  devoted  to  the  service  of  the  Lord 
by  her  parents  and  by  her  individual  choice. 

To  dispose  of  such  a  difficult  case,  for  under 
the  law  and  custom  all  maidens  of  the  proper  age 


146     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

were  required  to  be  married,  the  high  priest 
called  together  the  principal  persons  of  Jeru- 
salem and  the  country  surrounding  that  he  might 
have  their  advice  as  to  how  he  had  best  proceed 
in  such  a  case.  When  they  had  met  they  unani- 
mously agreed  to  consult  the  Lord  on  the  sub- 
ject and  asked  counsel  of  him  on  the  matter.  The 
high  priest  went  into  the  holy  of  holies,  the  ark, 
and  inquired  of  the  Lord  what  should  be  done, 
during  which  time  the  persons  concerned  in  the 
advice  remained  in  prayer  on  the  outside.  And 
immediately  a  voice  from  the  ark  that  all  might 
hear  said  that  all  men  of  the  house  of  David  who 
were  marriageable  but  not  married  should  bring 
their  several  rods  to  the  altar,  and  out  of  what- 
soever person's  rod  a  flower  should  bud  forth,  on 
the  top  of  which  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  should  sit 
in  the  form  of  a  dove,  he  should  be  the  man  to 
whom  the  virgin  should  be  given  and  betrothed. 
Accordingly,  at  the  appointed  time  all  mar- 
riageable men  of  the  house  of  David  appeared  at 
the  temple  with  their  rods,  where  on  command  they 
were  to  present  their  rods,  Joseph,  a  man  far 
advanced  in  years,  drew  back  his  rod,  but  all  the 
rest  presented  theirs ;  but  no  phenomenon  ap- 
peared and  the  high  priest  judged  it  proper 
to  consult  God  again,  when  he  was  informed  that 
he  to  whom  the  virgin  was  to  be  betrothed  had 
not  presented  his  rod.  Joseph  was  therefore  be- 
trayed, and  when  he  did  present  his  rod  a  dove 
coming  from  heaven  perched  upon  the  top  of  it. 


CONDITIONS  WHEN  JESUS  CAME     14(7 

and  every  one  plainly  saw  that  the  virgin  was 
to  be  betrothed  to  him. 

The  ceremony  of  betrothal  being  over,  Joseph 
returned  to  his  own  city  of  Bethlehem  to  set  his 
house  in  order,  and  Mary  went  to  her  parents' 
house  in  Galilee,  in  accordance  with  the  custom 
of  the  Jews  after  a  betrothal.  Mary  was  living 
with  her  parents  at  Nazareth.  It  was  eventide 
when  Mary  took  her  pot  to  the  virgin  spring  for 
water,  when  lo,  the  angel  Gabriel  appeared  unto 
her  as  a  messenger  from  God. 

To  break  the  spell  the  angel  spoke.  "  Fear 
not,  Mary,  for  thou  hast  found  favor  in  the 
sight  of  God;  the  Lord  is  with  thee  and  thou 
shalt  conceive."  With  a  fluttering  heart  filled 
with  astonishment,  mingled  with  shame  and  deep 
concern,  Mary  inquired,  "  Shall  I  conceive  by  the 
living  God  and  bring  forth  as  all  other  women 
do.-* "  But  the  angel  returned  answer,  "  Not 
so,  O  Mary ;  but  the  Holy  Ghost  shall  come  upon 
thee  and  the  power  of  the  Most  High  shall  over- 
shadow thee;  wherefore  that  which  shall  be  bom 
of  thee  shall  be  holy  and  shall  be  called  the  Son 
of  the  Living  God,  and  thou  shalt  call  his  name 
Jesus,  for  he  shall  save  his  people  from  their 
sins."     Protevangelium  ix.  1-15. 

Mary  returned  to  the  house  and  her  chamber 
was  filled  with  a  great  light  from  heaven,  and 
the  angel  spake  again  unto  her :  "  You  shall 
conceive  without  sin  and  bring  forth  a  son  while 
you  are  a  virgin,  and  he  shall  be  called  the  '  Son 


148     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

of  the  Highest,'  for  he  who  is  born  in  a  mean 
state  on  earth  reigns  in  an  exalted  one  in  heaven." 

What  joy  was  Mary's,  as  the  advent  of  her 
child  was  honored  as  was  never  that  of  an  infant 
before  and  never  will  be  again.  It  was  his 
awakening  into  physical  life  that  induced  the 
jNIagi  of  Persia,  the  Wise  Men  of  the  East,  to  fol- 
low his  star  for  hundreds  of  miles  across  deserts, 
over  mountains,  into  a  strange  country  to  present 
the  new  babe  with  their  offerings.  It  was  the 
awakening  of  this  physical  life  that  directed  the 
shepherds  to  leave  their  flocks  and  herds  in  the  field 
that  they  might  go  and  pay  their  adorations  to  the 
new-born  king.  It  was  this  babe  that  sent  a 
smile  across  the  face  of  heaven,  and  gathered  to 
his  lowly  cradle  the  hosts  of  the  angel  world, 
singing  as  they  came,  "  Glory  to  God  in  the 
highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  good-will  toward 
men." 

The  cup  of  Mary's  joy  was  full,  and  as  the 
babe  grew  in  strength  and  in  wisdom  her  soul 
went  out  in  praise  to  God  for  his  mindful  bless- 
ings of  her  virtues  and  fitness  to  become  the 
mother  of  God  incarnate  in  the  person  of  a  spirit- 
ual man,  blessed  of  heaven,  honored  of  earth,  fol- 
lowed by  the  wise,  but  shunned  and  hated  by  the 
vile  and  wicked.  As  he  grew  in  grace,  she  grew 
in  anxiety,  which  ripened  into  sorrow  unspeakable 
and  fathomless  as  she,  the  mother  of  a  sinless 
child,  saw  her  boy  bending  beneath  his  cross  on 
the  way  to   Calvary.     What   grief  was  hers  as 


CONDITIONS  WHEN  JESUS  CAME     149 

she  listened  to  the  noblest  prayer  that  was  ever 
sent  to  the  throne  of  God,  as  her  only  son  gave 
up  his  life  that  we  might  see  the  light :  "  Father, 
forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do." 
And  with  that  prayer  his  last  loving  look  fell 
upon  the  face  of  his  dear  mother,  whom  he  con- 
signed to  the  care  of  his  most  faithful  disciple 
John,  "  Woman,  behold  thy  son."  And  to  his 
disciple  he  said,  "  Behold  thy  mother." 

Did  ever  mother  have  deeper  sorrows  or  greater 
woes?  But  as  her  son  had  freely  given  his 
life  that  the  light  of  heaven  might  be  seen  of 
man,  she  was  reconciled  to  her  fate  and  went  to 
the  home  of  her  guardian  and  friend  John  at 
Jerusalem,  where  she  remained,  as  it  is  supposed, 
until  the  time  of  her  death,  a  time  of  which  we 
have  no  record.  The  last  recorded  evidence  we 
have  of  Mary  is  in  Acts,  i.  14,  when  she  and  the 
eleven  disciples  were  gathered  together  in  prayer 
in  an  upstairs  room  in   Jerusalem. 


IV 

WHO  WAS  JESUS? 

For  almost  two  thousand  years  the  world  has 
been  inquiring,  "  Who  was  Jesus  ?  "  As  yet  no 
universally  accepted  solution  has  been  given. 
Some  call  him  the  Son  of  God;  others  the  son  of 
man  brought  into  the  world  as  all  other  children, 
but  endowed  with  extraordinary  powers  of  intel- 
lect and  possessing  a  character  above  reproach. 
Authorities  on  both  sides  of  this  question  obtain 
their  opinions  from  the  Bible.  We  will  give  the 
statements  of  the  Bible  on  both  sides  that  our 
readers  may  judge  for  themselves.  We  are  not 
here  to  make  a  life  for  Jesus,  but  to  write  his 
life.  To  do  that  intelligently  and  truthfully  we 
must  not  consider  Jesus  in  the  abstract,  but 
must  take  into  consideration  the  intellectual 
standing  of  the  people  to  whom  the  Bible  was 
sent  or  addressed,  and  the  motives  of  the  authors 
or  its  books. 

In  those  days  people  attributed  supernatural 
agencies  to  everything  they  did  not  understand 
from  the  evidence  of  their  five  senses.  They 
heard  the  voice  of  God  in  the  thunder,  saw  his 
gleaming  eyes  in  the  lurid  lightning,  his  wrath  in 
the  belching  volcano,  his  goodness  in  bountiful 
showers  and  fruitful  seasons,  his  music  in  the 
150 


{For  description  of  this  picture^  see  opposite  page. ") 


I  obtained  the  following  description  bf  Jesus  from  my 
friend,  Alonzo  Thompson,  June  17th,  1907.  He  writes 
me  concerning  the  description  of  the  person  of  Jesus  as 
follows : 

"  The  following  was  taken  from  a  manuscript  now  in 
the  possession  of  Lord  Kelly,  in  his  library,  and  was 
translated  from  an  original  letter  at  Rome: 

"  IT  BEING  THE  USUAL  CUSTOM  OF  ROMAN  GOVERNORS  TO 
ADVISE  THE  SENATE  AND  PEOPLE  OF  SUCH  NATURAL  THINGS 
AS  HAPPEN  IN  THEIR  PROVINCES,  IN  THE  DAYS  OF  TIBERIUS 
C.i;SAR,  PUBLIUS  LENTULLUS,  PRESIDENT  OF  JUDEA,  WROTE  THE 
FOLLOWING  EPISTLE  TO  THE  SENATE  CONCERNING  OUR 
SAVIOUR." 

"  There  appeared  in  those  days  a  man  of  great  virtue, 
named  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  yet  living  among  us,  and  of 
the  Gentiles  is  accepted  as  a  prophet  of  truth,  but  his 
own  disciples  call  him  the  son  of  God;  he  raiseth  the 
dead  and  cures  all  manner  of  diseases. 

"  A  man  of  stature  somewhat  tall  and  comely,  with 
very  reverential  countenance,  such  as  the  beholders  may 
both  love  and  fear.  His  hair  of  the  color  of  a  chestnut 
full  ripe,  plain  to  his  ears;  whence  downward  it  is  more 
orient  and  curling  and  waving  about  his  shoulders.  In 
the  midst  of  his  head  is  a  seam,  or  partition  in  his  hair, 
after  the  manner  of  the  Nazarites.  His  forehead  plain 
and  very  delicate;  his  face  without  spot  or  wrinkle, 
beautiful  with  a  loviely  red;  his  nose  and  mouth  so  formed 
that  nothing  can  be  reprehended;  his  beard  stockish,  in 
color  like  his  hair,  not  very  long  but  forked;  his  looks 
innocent  and  mature,  but  eyes  very  clear  and  quick. 

"  In  reproving  he  is  terrible;  in  admonishing  courteous 
and  fair  spoken;  pleasant  in  conversation,  mixed  with 
gravity. 

"  It  cannot  be  remembered  that  any  one  has  ever  seen 
him  laugh,  but  many  have  seen  him  weep. 

"In  proportion  of  body,  most  excellent;  his  hands  and 
arms  most  delicate  to  behold. 

"  In  speaking  very  temperate,  modest  and  wise.  A  man 
for  his  singular  beauty,  surpassing  the  children  of  men." 


WHO  WAS  JESUS?  151 

whispering  wind,  his  love  in  the  invigoration  of 
nature,  his  displeasure  in  famine,  and  his  curses 
in  the  ravages  of  war.  All  good  things  came 
from  God  and  all  evil  from  his  displeasure 
through  the  ministration  of  the  Devil.  They 
were  principally  controlled  through  their  religious 
belief  and  the  selfish  demands  of  their  physical 
natures.  The  basis  of  their  religion  was  a  be- 
lief in  supernatural  wonders  in  which  God  was 
individualized,  that  it  was  his  office  to  pay  them 
strict  attention  as  his  favorites  of  all  the  children 
of  the  globe. 

With  those  convictions  in  the  minds  of  an  un- 
educated people  whose  passions  ruled  rather  than 
reason,  the  fathers  of  the  church  had  a  Herculean 
task  on  their  hands  in  presenting  the  life  and 
works  of  Jesus  in  a  way  that  would  be  acceptable 
to  the  masses,  and  at  the  same  time  answer  the 
demands  of  reason  and  the  coming  intelligence  of 
the  world. 

Considering  the  material  they  had  to  draw  from 
they  did  remarkably  well ;  for  their  work  was 
unlike  any  other  of  an  intellectual  nature  that  had 
ever  come  before  the  minds  of  the  people.  They 
had  to  convince  their  judgment  and  at  the  same 
time  feed  their  credulity ;  and  this  is  yet  the  con- 
viction of  many  among  eminent  divines,  one  of 
whom  was  no  less  a  personage  than  Henry  Ward 
Beecher,  who  believed  that  you  must  feed  the 
credulity  of  men  in  order  to  excite  their  religious 
emotions. 


152     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

With  this  great  mental  problem  in  view,  with 
a  knowledge  that  it  must  be  satisfying  to  move 
the  masses,  the  authors  of  the  New  Testament  en- 
tered upon  their  tasks  of  writing  the  life  of  Jesus, 
each  from  his  own  standpoint  of  knowledge. 
Matthew  and  Mark  were  the  only  ones  of  the 
writers  of  the  four  Gospels  who  knew  Jesus ;  they 
were  his  disciples  and  were  acquainted  with  his 
life  from  the  time  they  were  called  by  him  until 
his  ascension.  Luke  wrote  his  gospel  from 
rumor  and  the  general  belief  of  the  people. 
John  wrote  from  imagination,  called  by  many 
inspiration,  for  inspiration  is  but  imagination 
sharpened  by  intelligences  from  without  in  the 
way  of  mental  impressions. 

In  studying  the  Bible  we  must  take  into  con- 
sideration that  our  early  Christian  fathers,  as  the 
first  exponents  of  the  religion  and  life  of  Jesus 
were  called,  were  dealing  with  a  class  of  ignorant 
people  in  an  age  when  there  were  no  common 
schools,  newspapers,  or  other  means  of  mental  cul- 
ture than  verbal  instruction ;  though  there  were 
among  the  priests  and  the  learned  those  who 
could  read  and  write,  the  great  masses  saw  things 
only  through  their  five  senses,  and  then  but  dimly. 
Had  the  Fathers  of  the  Church  treated  the  life 
of  Jesus  from  a  scientific  standpoint  his  philoso- 
phy and  true  mission  would  not  have  been  re- 
ceived. The  early  church  fathers  were  wise 
enough  to  know  that  they  must  cater  to  the 
credulity  of  the  masses  to  gain  their  attention. 


WHO  WAS  JESUS?  153 

They  knew  humanity  too  well  to  attempt  to  make 
proselytes  by  shooting  ideas  over  their  heads. 
To  convince  a  person,  one  must  shoot  ideas  at 
him,  not  over  him. 

The  time  is  now  ripe  for  a  scientific  study  of 
the  Scriptures  with  the  assurance  that  intellect  is 
sufficiently  cultured  to  prevail  over  emotional  ig- 
norance and  superstition,  to  the  end  that  truth 
may  prevail  and  the  people  be  brought  back  to  a 
scientific  knowledge  of  the  whence  and  whither 
of  the  race.  In  presenting  the  scientific  side  of 
the  Bible  we  know  we  will  arouse  the  prejudices 
of  some  who  are  wedded  to  their  gods  and  would 
risk  the  loss  of  salvation  rather  than  give  up  a 
pet  dogma. 

Who  was  Jesus?  Was  He  the  Son  of  God? 
In  one  sense.  Yes ;  in  another  sense.  No. 
When  we  say  that  Jesus  was  the  Son  of  God,  we 
apply  it  in  a  spiritual  sense.  When  we  say  He 
was  the  son  of  Joseph,  we  apply  the  term  in  a 
physical  sense.  Man  is  a  dual  being,  composed 
of  a  spiritual  body  and  a  physical  body.  The 
physical  is  of  the  earth,  earthy;  the  spiritual  is 
made  up  of  those  invisible  forces  which  we  call 
life  and  intelligence.  In  the  prophesy  of  Isaiah 
the  spirit  of  the  Lord  was  to  rest  on  the  object  of 
the  prophesy,  which  is  conceded  to  be  Jesus. 
Mary  was  overshadowed  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 
The  Holy  Ghost  is  a  spiritual  power  and  as  such 
Mary  was  impressed  through  the  power  of  the 
mind'. 


154     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

Before  we  can  fully  understand  who  Jesus  was 
we  must  understand  who  we  are.  We  have  ob- 
served before  that  man  is  composed  of  three 
parts,  the  physical  body,  the  life,  and  the  soul. 
We  have  already  shown  what  the  physical  is,  but 
have  not  explained  it.  The  physical  part  of  man 
h  the  house  in  which  he  lives.  The  body  in  and 
of  itself  is  nothing  but  a  combination  of  the 
elements  of  the  ground,  about  seventeen  in  num- 
ber. If  God  had  stopped  in  his  act  of  creation 
when  he  was  through  with  the  body  of  Adam, 
he  would  have  been  no  more  than  a  lump  of  dirt ; 
but  when  he  breathed  into  his  body  the  breath 
of  life,  that  bod}^  had  the  power  of  mobility ;  it 
could  move  about  but  could  not  think,  could  not 
articulate,  could  not  exhibit  the  powers  of  an 
intelligent  being;  but  when  the  mind  or  soul  took 
charge,  he  became  a  fully  developed  man. 

To  further  illustrate:  The  body  within  and 
of  itself  has  no  sensation.  When  you  look  out 
on  the  beauties  and  wonders  of  the  universe 
around  you,  it  is  not  the  body  that  looks  out 
but  the  spirit  in  the  body ;  it  is  not  the  body  that 
hears,  it  is  the  spirit  within  which  uses  the  or- 
gans of  the  body  in  the  act  of  hearing.  It  is 
not  the  body  that  feels  the  sensation  of  pain,  it 
is  the  spirit  within  the  body.  It  is  not  the  body 
that  loves,  hates,  or  thinks,  it  is  the  soul  that 
makes  the  man. 

The  workings  of  the  mind  may  be  entirely 
taken  away,  and  yet  the  body  may  live  and  ex- 


WHO  WAS  JESUS?  155 

hibit  the  powers  of  life ;  but  stop  the  action  of 
the  heart,  destroy  life,  and  where  is  the  soul?  It 
has  left  the  house  in  which  it  dwelled ;  it  has  taken 
its  flight.  It  has  gone  to  the  rewards  of  its 
work ;  if  it  has  sown  to  the  flesh  it  will  reap  cor- 
ruption, if  it  has  sown  to  the  spirit  it  will  reap 
life  everlasting. 

When  God  created  Adam  He  made  the  body; 
He  then  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of 
life  and  man  became  a  living  soul.  Life  and  soul 
are  associated,  they  go  together;  where  one  is  the 
other  will  also  be.  While  they  perform  diff'erent 
offices  in  man,  they  are  associates  for  eternity. 
Life  is  a  factor  of  nature,  an  element  of  God, 
and  is  as  unending  as  God  is  infinite.  The  spirit 
or  soul  of  man  is  but  a  borrowed  adjunct  of  the 
Infinite,  and  God  through  His  spirit  in  us  and 
we  in  Him. 

Great  God  Our  Father  and  our  love. 
Our  Maker  and  Protector, 
Let  us  in  Thy  bosom  dwell. 
And  know  Thee  as  Thou  art. 

Who  then  was  Jesus?  He  was  the  physical 
son  of  Joseph  but  the  real  Son  of  God  through 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  infinite  spirit 
of  our  Maker.  Who  was  Jesus?  If  He  was 
not  a  real  descendant  of  the  house  of  David,  then 
all  prophesy  concerning  the  Messiah  has  failed 
and  we  must  look  again  for  His  coming.  Who 
was  Jesus?     If  He  was  not  the  actual  Son  of 


156     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

God  through  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  then 
nature  is  deceptive,  the  science  of  being  a  f  ounda- 
tionless  fiction  and  the  Bible  itself  a  fabrication. 
We  call  attention  to  Matthew,  i.  18,  "  The  Holy 
Ghost  shall  come  upon  thee  and  the  power  of  the 
Highest  shall  overshadow  thee,  and  He  shall  be 
called  the  Son  of  the  Highest."  And  again  it 
says,  "  And  He  shall  be  called  the  Son  of  God." 
Luke  i.  26-35. 

The  Apocryphal  New  Testament  is  more  ex- 
plicit. When  the  angel  of  the  Lord  spoke  to 
Mary  on  the  subject  of  her  coming  son,  she  said 
unto  him,  in  a  spirit  of  astonishment,  "  What ! 
Shall  I  conceive  by  the  living  God  and  bring  forth 
as  all  other  women  do  ?  "  But  the  angel  returned 
answer,  "  Not  so,  0  Mary,  but  the  Holy  Ghost 
shall  come  upon  thee,  and  the  power  of  the  Most 
High  shall  overshadow  thee.  .  .  .  He  shall 
be  called  the  Son  of  the  Living  God."  Protevan- 
gelium  ix.  11—15. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  Holy  Ghost  is  a  spiritual, 
mental  power.  And  as  we  have  also  shown  that 
thoughts  are  organized  forces,  that  by  the  force 
of  thought  God  combined  the  universe,  it  follows 
that  the  spiritual  thought  of  Divinity  gave  cast 
and  force  to  the  mind  and  soul  of  Jesus  before 
his  birth  into  the  world;  and  as  it  is  a  scientific 
fact  that  the  spirit  is  the  man  endowed  with  in- 
telligence, Jesus  was  the  Son  of  God,  though 
he  called  himself  "  the  son  of  man  "  over  sixty 
times  during  his  ministry.     Both  appellations  are 


WHO  WAS  JESUS?  157 

correct.  The  title  "  sons  of  God "  is  used  all 
through  the  Bible,  and  is  used  as  a  common  ap- 
pellation to-day  by  those  believing  in  Christianity. 

The  practice  commenced  in  the  early  dawn  of 
man's  existence.  We  learn  from  Biblical  records 
that  the  sons  of  God  saw  the  daughters  of  men, 
that  they  were  fair;  and  they  took  wives  of  all 
they  chose.  When  the  sons  of  God  came  unto 
the  daughters  of  men,  and  they  bore  children 
unto  them.  Gen.  vi.  2,  4.  Ye  are  not  my  people, 
there  it  shall  be  said  unto  them.  Ye  are  the  sons 
of  the  living  God.  Hosea  i.  10.  But  as  many 
as  received  him,  to  them  gave  he  power  to  become 
the  sons  of  God,  even  them  that  believe  on  his 
name.  John  i.  12.  As  many  as  are  led  by  the 
spirit  of  God  are  the  sons  of  God.  For  the 
earnest  expectation  of  the  creature  wait  for  the 
manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God.  Romans  viii. 
14,  18.  That  ye  be  blameless  and  harmless,  the 
sons  of  God,  without  rebuke,  in  the  midst  of  a 
crooked  and  perverse  nation,  among  whom  3^e 
shall  be  lights  in  the  world.  Phil.  ii.  15.  Be- 
hold, what  manner  of  love  the  father  hath  be- 
stowed upon  us,  that  we  should  be  called  the  sons 
of  God.  Beloved  now  are  we  the  sons  of  God; 
and  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be  but 
we  know  that,  when  he  shall  appear,  we  shall  be 
like  him.     I.  John  iii.  1,  2. 

While  Jesus  called  himself  "  the  son  of  man," 
his  apostles  endeared  him  to  their  hearts  with  more 
loving     words,     such     as     "  Lord,"     "  Master," 


158     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

*'  Savior,"  "  Redeemer "  and  other  terms.  In 
the  beginning  of  the  gospels  of  Jesus  Christ, 
the  son  of  God.  Mark  i.  11.  And  unclean 
spirits,  when  they  saw  him,  fell  down  be- 
fore him,  and  cried  saying,  Thou  art  the  son  of 
God.  Mark  iii.  11.  And  devils  came  out  of 
many  crying  out,  saying,  Thou  art  Christ  the 
son  of  God.  Luke  iv.  41.  And  I  saw,  and  bear 
witness  that  this  is  the  son  of  God.  John  i.  34. 
He  that  believeth  on  him  is  not  condemned;  but 
he  that  believeth  not  is  condemned  already,  be- 
cause he  hath  not  believed  in  the  name  of  the  only 
begotten  son  of  God.  John  iii.  18.  Verily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  you,  The  hour  is  coming,  and 
now  is,  when  the  dead  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the 
son  of  God,  and  they  that  hear  shall  live.  John 
V.  25. 

The  Jews,  like  all  ignorant  races,  were  great 
sticklers  for  word  worship,  and  like  most  people 
nowadays  looking  for  the  mote  in  the  eyes  of 
others,  seeing  the  great  work  of  Jesus  and  the 
good  he  was  doing,  became  jealous  and  conspired 
to  bring  some  accusation  against  him  that  he 
might  be  condemned.  When  he  was  in  the  temple 
at  Jerusalem  one  winter  day  they  surrounded  him 
and  plied  him  with  many  questions,  one  of  which 
was  this :  "  How  long  dost  thou  make  us  to 
doubt.''  If  thou  be  the  Christ,  tell  us  plainly." 
"  I  told  you,  and  ye  believed  me  not,"  said  Jesus. 
"  The  works  that  I  do  in  my  Father's  name,  they 
bear  witness  of  me.     But  ye  believe  not,  because 


WHO  WAS  JESUS?  159 

ye  are  not  of  my  sheep ;  as  I  said  unto  you,  My 
sheep  hear  my  voice,  and  I  know  them,  and  they 
follow  me ;  and  I  give  unto  them  eternal  life ;  and 
they  shall  never  perish,  neither  shall  any  man 
pluck  them  out  of  my  hand.  My  Father,  which 
gave  them  to  me  is  greater  than  all ;  and  no  man  is 
able  to  pluck  them  out  of  my  Father's  hand.  I 
and  my  Father  are  one."  Then  the  Jews  took 
up  stones  again  to  stone  him.  Jesus  answered 
them,  Many  good  works  have  I  showed  you  from 
my  Father ;  for  which  of  those  works  do  ye  stone 
me?  The  Jews  answered  him,  saying.  For  a 
good  work  we  stone  thee  not ;  but  for  blasphemy ; 
and  because  that  thou,  being  a  man,  makest  thy- 
self God.  Jesus  answered  them.  Is  it  not  written 
in  your  law,  I  said.  Ye  are  gods?  If  he  called 
them  gods,  unto  whom  the  word  of  God  came,  and 
the  Scripture  cannot  be  broken ;  say  ye  of  him, 
whom  the  Father  hath  sanctified,  and  sent  into  the 
world,  Thou  blasphemest;  because  I  said,  I  am 
the  Son  of  God.  If  I  do  not  the  works  of  my 
Father,  believe  me  not.  But  if  I  do,  though  you 
believe  not  me,  believe  the  works ;  that  ye  may 
know,  and  believe,  that  the  Father  is  in  me,  and 
I  in  him.     John  x.  24-28. 

This  conversation  of  Jesus  is  all  fully  explained 
in  the  82d  Psalm.  "  God  standeth  in  the  con- 
gregation of  the  mighty;  he  judgeth  among  the 
gods.  How  long  will  ye  judge  unjustly,  and 
accept  the  persons  of  the  wicked?  Defend  the 
poor  and  fatherless ;  do  justice  to  the  afflicted  and 


160     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

need3\  Rid  them  out  of  the  hand  of  the  wicked. 
They  know  not,  neither  will  they  understand; 
they  walk  on  in  darkness.  All  the  foundations 
of  the  earth  are  out  of  course,     i  have  said,  ye 

ARE  GODS  ;  AND  ALL  OF  YOU  ARE  CHIL- 
DREN OF  THE  MOST  HIGH.  But  ye  shall  die  like 
men,  and  fall  like  one  of  the  princes.  Arise, 
O  God,  judge  the  earth;  for  thou  shalt  inherit 
all  nations." 

That  play  upon  words  was  rythm  in  the  songs 
of  the  Psalmist  and  served  Jesus  in  explaining 
his  spiritual  relations  to  the  occult  powers  mani- 
fested through  him,  which  the  Jews  could  not, 
or  would  not  understand.  And  there  are  many 
Jews  in  this  age. 

All  the  prophesies  concerning  Jesus  were  of  his 
physical  nature  as  a  lineal  descendant  of  David. 
Isaiah  in  the  11th  chapter  prophesies  that  our 
Lord  was  to  come  from  out  of  the  stem  of  Jesse, 
who  was  the  father  of  David. 

JESUS   THE    HIGH   PRIEST 

The  life  of  Jesus  presents  to  man  the  richest 
field  of  thought  that  was  ever  left  as  an  inheri- 
tance to  the  race.  There  is  always  something 
new,  inspiring,  and  rich  coming  up  for  our  con- 
sideration in  studying  him.  Intellectually  he 
shows  more  diversity  of  culture  than  any  other 
of  the  great  minds  that  have  Idlest  the  world  with 
the  harvest  of  their  thought  and  expression. 
Some  of  them  developed  more  of  a  scientific  na- 


WHO  WAS  JESUS?  161 

ture  than  he  from  the  fact  that  each  of  those 
scholars  was  a  specialist  devoting  his  life  to  a 
single  individual  subject;  while  Jesus  seemed  to 
grasp  all  subjects  which  he  was  called  on  to  ex- 
plain with  a  clearness  and  depth  of  comprehen- 
sion that  all  generations  admire.  As  a  moralist 
none  have  as  yet  approached  him  in  depth  of  con- 
ception and  beauty  of  expression.  As  a  spiritual 
mind  his  was  the  comprehension  of  the  laws  of 
man  In  their  most  significant  importance.  As  a 
loving  humanitarian  extending  the  blessings  of 
fraternity  to  the  world,  he  Is  the  prototype  of  all 
goodness.  This  quality  of  heart  was  manifested 
through  his  office  as  high  priest  after  the  Order 
of  Melchlzedek. 

It  Is  not  generally  understood  that  Jesus  held 
that  office,  the  reason  of  which  I  do  not  know. 
Of  all  the  sermons  that  I  have  heard  I  never 
heard  one  preached  about  Jesus  as  the  "  High 
Priest  After  the  Order  of  Melchlzedek."  The 
reason  may  be  that  it  is  too  tame  and  practical 
to  arouse  the  emotions  of  the  susceptible.  The 
church  in  the  past  has  fattened  on  the  emotions 
of  the  weak,  but  In  the  future  the  Intellect  must 
be  in  training  or  a  new  cult  will  be  developed. 

In  studying  the  "  Order  of  Melchlzedek  "  we 
have  but  few  land-marks  to  guide  us.  All  we 
know  of  it  historically  Is  to  be  found  In  Gen. 
xlv.  18—20 ;  Psalms  ex.  4,  what  Paul  said  In  Heb. 
V.  6,  7,  and  as  It  was  exemplified  in  the  works  and 
precepts  of  the  Master.     We  know  that  the  Or- 


162     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

der  of  Melchizedek  was  a  benevolent  organization, 
the  object  of  which  was  to  do  good,  relieve  dis- 
tress, heal  the  wounds  of  the  sorrowing,  and  assist 
humanity  wherever  and  whenever  such  help  was 
feasible. 

When  Abraham  was  returning  from  the  de- 
feat of  the  five  kings  his  little  army  became  weary, 
and  while  he  halted  in  the  King's  dale  to  give  it 
rest,  "  Melchizedek,  king  of  Salem,  went  out  to 
see  him  and  brought  forth  bread  and  wine  and 
refreshed  the  army  of  Abraham,  and  he  was  the 
High  Priest  of  the  Most  High  God.  And  he 
blessed  Abraham  and  Abraham  acknowledged  him 
as  his  superior  and  paid  tithes  unto  him."  Adam 
Clark  in  his  Commentaries  on  the  Bible  says, 
"  There  is  something  exceedingly  mysterious  in 
the  person  and  character  of  the  king  of  Salem, 
and  to  find  out  the  whole  is  impossible.  He  seems 
to  have  been  a  sort  of  a  universal  spirit,  and  con- 
fessedly superior,  even  to  Abraham  himself,  the 
father  of  the  source  of  the  Jewish  nation." 

After  this,  when  Moses  was  leading  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  through  the  wilderness,  where  they 
had  to  contend  with  all  kinds  of  opposition  and 
trials,  he  changed  the  order  of  society  and  es- 
tablished the  priesthood  of  Aaron  which  took  the 
place  of  the  order  of  Melchizedek  among  the 
people.  When  the  Aaronic  priesthood  had  ful- 
filled its  mission  and  a  better  condition  was  neces- 
sary, Jesus  was  sent  upon  the  earth  to  re- 
establish the  Order  of  Melchizedek,  which  order 


WHO  WAS  JESUS?  163 

must  have  contained  all  the  principles  of  good 
society  for  the  betterment  of  the  race. 

Melchizedek  was  called  the  King  of  righetous- 
ness,  also  the  King  of  peace.  Following  the  in- 
tendment of  the  Order  of  Melchizedek,  Jesus 
came  into  the  world  as  a  peace  maker,  relieving 
distress,  healing  the  sick,  binding  up  the  wounds 
of  the  sorrowing  heart,  visiting  the  fatherless  and 
widows  in  their  afflictions,  doing  good  in  every 
department  of  life,  and  bringing  the  beauties  of 
heaven  to  the  door  of  every  man  who  would  ac- 
cept, but  he  did  not  hold  out  any  inducement  to 
the  crime-dj^ed  scoundrel  who  wished  for  a  bank- 
rupt court  in  heaven  to  relieve  him  of  wrongs  done 
on  earth, —  as  Paul  most  emphatically  says,  "  We 
must  all  appear  before  the  judgment  seat  of 
Christ ;  that  every  one  may  receive  the  things  done 
in  his  body,  according  to  that  he  hath  done, 
whether  it  be  good  or  evil."     II.  Cor.  v.  10. 

It  was  the  mission  of  Jesus  to  teach  people  how 
to  live,  not  how  to  die.  If  a  person  lives  right, 
according  to  the  teaching  of  Jesus,  he  will  die 
right  and  he  cannot  by  dying  escape  the  realities 
of  living.  Jesus  held  out  no  hope  for  the  mere 
asking.  He  made  no  promise  to  the  sin-stained 
man  that  he  might  get  into  heaven  after  he  was 
dead ;  the  gist  of  the  teachings  of  Jesus  was  that 
the  only  sure  way  to  get  into  heaven  Is  to  sow  the 
seeds  in  this  life  and  take  the  smiles  of  heaven 
with  you  in  the  journey  of  death. 

To  the  turbid  waters  of  the  soul  Jesus  spoke 


164.     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

words  of  friendship,  love,  and  truth,  the  holy 
trinity  of  the  binding  elements  of  society.  They 
are  the  rungs  of  the  ladder  from  earth  to  heaven ; 
they  form  the  chart  of  all  social  and  moral  excel- 
lencies ;  and  they  soothe  the  ravages  of  selfish- 
ness to  the  softening  precepts  of  fraternity,  for- 
bearance and  purity. 

The  society  of  the  Jews  had  eliminated  those 
benign  qualities  from  their  practices  and  in  their 
endeavors  to  oppress  others  they  were  themselves 
oppressed;  they  were  reaping  the  harvest  of  the 
seeds  they  had  sown.  They  desired  relief  and 
under  the  promises  of  the  prophets  of  old  they 
expected  a  Redeemer,  but  they  expected  him  to 
come  with  the  power  of  the  sword  of  vengeance 
and  lead  them  to  liberty  through  the  gates  of 
carnage  and  war.  The  Redeemer  of  peace,  love, 
and  friendship  was  so  foreign  to  their  concep- 
tions of  a  Savior  that  they  spurned  and  despised 
the  very  person  of  Jesus.  They  had  no  concep- 
tion of  a  spiritual  kingdom  on  earth.  They 
could  not  understand  the  meaning  of  such  a 
proposition.  They  wanted  a  physical  demonstra- 
tion of  the  powers  of  God.  They  had  been 
taught  under  the  priesthood  of  Aaron  that  God 
was  an  individuality,  with  all  the  passions,  preju- 
dices, and  attributes  of  man.  He  was  considered 
a  man  of  war,  was  subject  to  fits  of  anger,  and 
had  the  servile  nature  of  being  pleased  with  flat- 
tery and  adulations  and  praise.  He  had  all  the 
sensualities   of  gross   meat-eating   men.     He  de- 


WHO  WAS  JESUS?  165 

lighted  in  blood,  in  sacrifices,  in  wine  drinking  as 
offerings,  which  always  were  sent  to  Him  as  a 
precautionary  means  of  safety,  through  the  holy 
office  of  the  priesthood.  There  were  fruit  offer- 
ings, bird  offerings,  kid  offerings,  and  many  other 
delicacies  that  would  satisfy  the  taste  of  even  the 
fattest  occupant  of  the  office  of  the  Jewish  priest- 
hood. To  do  those  things  right  and  acceptably 
to  their  God  it  was  necessary  for  some  one  to  take 
charge  of  the  holy  duties  of  feeding  God  on  the 
sweets  of  the  land,  that  he  might  lend  his  smiles 
and  good  wishes  to  that  particular  people.  So 
a  priesthood  was  established  that  was  to  take  the 
place  of  the  more  mild  and  humanitarian  priest- 
hood of  Melchizedek,  and  as  high  priest  was  neces- 
sary, Aaron  was  appointed  to  that  office,  with  his 
four  sons  to  assist  him.  The  order  appointing 
them  was  made  a  perpetual  statute  and  secured  by 
being  proclaimed  by  God  himself  as  being  an 
everlasting  priesthood  throughout  all  their  gen- 
erations.    Ex.  xxix.  9 ;  Ex.  xl.  15. 

This  priesthood  was  confined  to  the  tribe  of 
Levi,  whose  duties  were  to  bear  the  ark  of  the 
covenant,  to  stand  before  God  and  administer  unto 
him,  and  for  those  services  they  were  separated 
from  the  other  tribes  of  Israel.  Deut.  x.  8.  Un- 
der this  peculiar  religion  the  children  of  Israel 
became  very  warlike,  cruel  and  revengeful ;  the 
result  was,  they  were  often  conquered  and  en- 
slaved by  other  nations,  and  finally  scattered  upon 
the  face  of  the  earth  without  a  country.     Under 


166     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

this  priesthood  the  people  were  taught  that  God 
administered  his  rewards  and  punishments  in  this 
hfe;  they  did  not  believe  in  a  future  existence, 
and  under  the  Old  Bible  man  was  considered  but 
a  beast. 

"  I  said  in  mine  heart  concerning  the  estate  of 
the  sons  of  men,  that  God  might  manifest  them, 
and  that  they  might  see  that  they  themeslves  are 
beasts ;  for  that  which  befalleth  the  sons  of  men, 
bef alleth  beasts ;  even  one  thing  befalleth  them ; 
as  the  one  dieth,  so  dieth  the  other;  yea,  they 
have  all  one  breath ;  so  that  a  man  hath  no  pre- 
eminence above  a  beast ;  for  all  is  vanity.  All  go 
unto  one  place;  all  are  of  the  dust  and  all  turn 
to  dust  again.  Who  knoweth  the  spirit  of  man 
that  goeth  upward  and  the  spirit  of  the  beast 
that  goeth  downward  to  the  earth.''  Wherefore 
I  perceive  that  there  is  nothing  better,  than  that 
a  man  should  rej  oice  in  his  own  works ;  for  this 
is  his  portion;  for  who  shall  bring  him  to  see 
what  shall  be  after  him.?"  Eccles.  iii.  18-22. 
Under  such  teachings  it  was  no  wonder  the  Jews 
became  self-arrogant,  warlike,  and  pillagers  of 
other  men's  holdings. 

The  Order  of  Melchizedek  had  been  supplanted 
by  all  the  Jewish  sects,  save  the  Essenes.  They 
held  on  to  the  faith  of  a  future  life,  and  that  this 
life  did  not  end  all  of  either  rewards  or  punish- 
ments ;  but  they  were  too  weak  in  purpose  and 
spirituality  to  bring  about  revolution  in  the  senti- 
ments of  the  people  and  a  Redeemer  was  neces- 


WHO  WAS  JESUS?  167 

sary ;  for  God  never  intended  that  the  race  should 
become  wholly  corrupt  and  beastly.  To  prevent 
the  continuation  of  the  rapid  decadence  then 
manifest  among  the  Jews,  the  spirit  of  the  order 
of  Melchizedek  had  to  be  revived  by  supplanting 
the  priesthood  of  Aaron  by  a  better  priesthood, 
through  a  more  righteous  and  enlightened  priest, 
so  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  accomplish  a 
purpose,  and  that  purpose  was  to  do  away  with 
the  Aaronic  priesthood  and  re-establish  a  priest- 
hood after  the  order  of  Melchizedek,  as  had  been 
prophesied  and  foretold  many  times  before. 
'*  The  Lord  hath  sworn  and  will  not  repent : 
Thou  art  a  priest  forever  after  the  order  of 
Melchizedek."  Pisalm  ex.  4.  All  the  learned 
commentators  agree  that  this  was  a  prophecy 
of  the  coming  of  Jesus.  "  Seeing  then  that  we 
have  a  great  high  priest,  that  is  passed  into  the 
heavens,  Jesus  the  son  of  God,  let  us  hold  fast 
our  profession."     Heb.  iv.  14, 

And  again,  "  So  also  Christ  glorified  not  him- 
self to  be  made  a  high  priest;  but  he  that  said 
unto  him.  Thou  art  my  son,  to-day  have  I  begot- 
ten thee."  Heb.  v.  5.  This  is  a  very  important 
passage:  the  keynote  that  relates  Jesus  to  God 
as  his  only  begotten  son.  "  To-day  have  I  be- 
gotten thee."  Jesus  was  begotten  of  God 
through  heavenly  ordination  as  high  priest.  It 
was  a  spiritual  gift  and  had  reference  to  the 
sanctification  of  our  Lord  rather  than  to  declare 
him  physical  son. 


168     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

The  order  of  Melchizedek  was  before  the  priest- 
hood of  Aaron,  for  he  administered  to  Abraham 
four  hundred  and  twenty  years  before  the  law 
was  made  creating  the  priesthood  of  Aaron. 
Melchizedek  was  represented  as  being  without 
father  or  mother,  without  descent,  having  neither 
the  beginning  of  days  nor  end  of  life,  but  made 
like  the  son  of  God,  abideth  a  priest  continually. 
This  scripture  had  reference  to  his  priesthood  and 
not  to  his  physical  existence,  on  the  same  prin- 
ciple that  "  the  king  never  dies,"  but  abideth  on 
the  throne  continually. 

Full  particulars  as  to  the  priesthood  of  Jesus 
the  reader  will  find  in  the  5th,  6th,  and  7th  chap- 
ters of  Hebrews. 

The  mission  of  Jesus  upon  the  earth  was  to 
bring  back  the  teachings  and  customs  of  the  or- 
der of  Melchizedek,  in  the  mysteries  of  which  or- 
der he  was  well  versed.  To  say  that  he  was  a 
highpriest  of  the  order  of  Melchizedek  without 
his  knowing  anything  about  it  is  absurd.  To 
say  that  he  was  made  highpriest  of  the  order  of 
Melchizedek  when  there  was  no  such  an  order  is 
equally  absurd. 

The  facts  are,  Jesus  was  sent  into  the  world  for 
the  especial  purpose  of  reinstating  the  order  of 
Melchizedek  as  an  improvement  one,  and  inde- 
pendent of  the  priesthood  of  Aaron,  and  the  ma- 
terialistic teachings  of  the  Jews,  and  for  that  they 
crucified  him.  It  was  the  practice  of  the  Jews 
to  destroy  every  one  who  differed  with  them  in 


WHO  WAS  JESUS?  169 

their  notions  of  religion,  and  Jesus  was  not  an 
exception.  In  fact  that  same  intolerant  spirit 
held  a  bloody  reign  over  the  nations  of  the  earth 
for  more  than  sixteen  hundred  3'ears  after  Jesus. 

THE  FATHER,  SON,  AND  HOLY  GHOST 

The  term  "  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost  "  is 
so  familiar  in  pulpit  oratory  that  it  has  come  to 
be  a  kind  of  universal  creed  used  by  all.  While 
it  is  not  a  Biblical  doctrine  yet  it  is  a  useful,  and 
I  might  say,  necessary  adjunct  and  foundation 
of  the  Christian  religion. 

This  tenn  leads  us  into  the  science  of  God  and 
the  relation  we  bear  to  Him  and  He  bears  to  us. 

In  considering  the  science  of  God,  we  must  not 
treat  him  as  a  personality  surrounded  by  en- 
vironments as  individuals  are  but  as  the  compre- 
hension of  all  things.  God  is  in  and  of  all 
things,  animate,  and  inanimate,  and  the  author  of 
all.  God  is  absolute  wisdom,  not  of  wisdom  but 
wisdom  itself;  therefore  he  is  all  wise.  God  is 
absolute  knowledge,  not  of  knowledge,  but  knowl- 
edge itself;  therefore  he  knows  all  things.  God 
is  absolute  thought,  not  of  thought,  but  thought 
itself.  God  is  absolute  will-force,  not  of  will- 
force,  for  no  power  willed  God  into  being,  but 
he  is  will-force  itself;  God  is  absolute  power,  not 
a  creature  of  power  but  power  itself,  therefore 
he  is  all-powerful.  God  is  absolute  spirit,  not  of 
spirit,  but  spirit  itself.  These  are  some  of  the 
prime  factors  of  God,  the  only  Infinite  One.     On 


170     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

the  same  principle  life  is  a  factor  of  God  mani- 
festing itself  in  every  combination  of  nature,  ac- 
cording to  the  chemical  compounds  of  each  being. 
Man  is  a  compound  of  the  elements  of  nature ; 
that  physical  compound  manifests  his  form  of 
life.  There  are  seventeen  of  the  earth  elements 
and  perhaps  more  in  the  compound  called  man ; 
behind  and  controlling  these  seventeen  elements 
are  as  many  spiritual  elements  in  the  makeup  of 
each  human  being.  Therefore  man  is  both  a 
physical  and  a  spiritual  being.  In  comprehend- 
ing this  scientific  makeup,  Paul  recognized  man 
as  containing  both  a  physical  body  and  a  spiritual 
bod}?^,  both  of  which  are  eternal  factors  of  na- 
ture, which  as  principles  never  had  a  beginning 
and  will  never  have  an  ending ;  but  his  physical 
entity,  when  it  will  have  served  its  purpose,  will 
be  dissolved  and  go  back  to  its  original  condition 
to  compose  the  framework  of  other  physical  en- 
tities;  and  his  spirit  evolve  on  to  the  state  of 
perfection,  where  it  will  assimilate  in  the  universal 
spirit  of  God.  In  the  art  of  transmitting  the 
human  species  along  the  line  of  life  the  wisdom 
of  God  has  made  it  unnecessary  for  a  special  crea- 
tion in  bringing  forth  each  human  being;  but 
man  is  brought  forth  through  the  laws  of  human 
generation,  and  his  life  existence  conforms  also 
to  general  laws  which  are  the  conception  of  divine 
wisdom. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  the  Divine  life  of 
Jesus  was  the  result  of  the  science  of  spiritology 


WHO  WAS  JESUS?  171 

introduced  in  the  formation  of  society  in  the  days 
of  Abraham  and  culminated  with  his  life  upon 
the  cross.  It  must  also  be  remembered  that 
neither  Jesus  nor  the  Apostles  stopped  to  argue 
the  philosophy  of  their  mission,  as  they  conformed 
to  the  Divine  will  in  accomplishing  their  mission 
on  earth.  They  simply  spoke  and  wrote  of 
things  as  they  were,  and  actions  of  men  as  they 
occurred,  without  entering  into  the  philosophy, 
science,  or  reason  of  the  respective  events ;  hence 
the  world  has  gone  astray  in  a  great  measure  in 
its  speculations  as  to  the  nature  of  God,  of  Jesus 
and  the  Holy  Ghost,  never  dreaming  that  they 
present  the  demonstration  of  the  great  science  of 
spirit,  and  that  Jesus  was  a  physical  exponent  of 
that  science.  To  understand  the  life  of  Jesus, 
then,  we  must  study  it  from  a  spiritual  and  not  a 
physical  standpoint. 

There  is  a  spirit  that  permeates  nature ;  you 
may  call  it  life  endowed  with  intelligence,  if  you 
v."ish.  It  makes  little  difference  what  name  you 
apply  to  any  of  the  attributes  of  God;  they  are 
the  same  by  whatever  name  you  may  call  them. 
That  universal  spirit  is  an  element  that  is  as 
eternal  as  God,  because  it  is  a  part  of  God  — 
not  on  the  principle  that  a  man's  hand  is  a  part 
of  his  body  and  cannot  be  severed  from  the  body 
and  leave  the  body  whole,  but  it  is  a  part  of 
God  on  the  principle  that  a  drop  of  water  is  a 
part  of  the  aqueous  fluid  of  the  earth,  one  por- 
tion of  which  may  be  in  the  circulatory  system 


172     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

of  man,  another  in  an  animal,  another  in  a  tree, 
plant,  mineral,  or  combined  in  the  great  salt  body 
of  the  ocean ;  wherever  it  is,  in  whatever  combina- 
tion it  may  be  found,  it  is  water  composed  of 
two  gases.  Dissolve  the  compound  and  the  parts 
composing  it  go  back  to  their  original  elements. 
Now  the  spirit  of  God  is  in  every  man,  and  it 
is  pure  spirit,  as  water  is  always  pure ;  —  in  what- 
ever combination  it  may  be  found,  when  extracted 
it  is  pure.  The  spirit  of  God  is  pure  in  every 
person,  but  its  free  action  is  impeded,  diverted, 
and  hindered  in  many  ways, —  sometimes  through 
defects  in  the  physiological  development ;  some- 
times through  mental  wantonness,  sometimes 
through  impressive  spiritual  forces  of  a  crude  and 
devilish  nature. 

While  the  word  God  is  generic  in  its  term, 
that  infinity  that  holds  and  controls  the  universe 
is  manifest  in  many  individual  forms  and  phases 
of  nature,  and  is  in  every  condition  of  man  from 
the  embryonic  foetus  to  the  archangel  that  minis- 
ters to  his  wisdom  in  the  realms  of  eternal  light. 
The  word  God  comprehends  them  all  above  the 
grade  of  man  and  spirit,  in  a  Biblical  sense  and  as 
used  by  Bible  writers.  This  has  been  explained 
under  the  head  of  "  Bible  Gods." 

Sometimes  the  spirit  that  the  Jews  recognized 
under  the  name  of  God  was  bad  and  led  them  into 
trouble  and  finally  destroyed  that  people  as  a 
nation  with  an  abiding  home.  Every  nation  has 
its  god.     If  the  people  of  the  nation  are  good, 


WHO  WAS  JESUS?  173 

law-abiding,  progressive,  and  moral,  that  kind  of 
god  attends  and  administers  unto  them.  If  they 
are  immoral,  bad,  and  self-degraded,  their  god 
will  find  them  and  lead  them  on,  because  there  are 
evil  gods  as  there  are  evil  men,  because  all  in- 
dividual gods  came  from  the  earth  sphere.  As 
every  nation  has  its  god,  so  does  every  famil}^ 
and  every  individual.  In  some  instances  the  fam- 
ily god  is  very  wicked  and  bad,  and  the  family 
over  which  he  rules  is  equally  bad,  disagreeable, 
contentious,  and  wicked.  The  same  rule  prevails 
in  individuals ;  every  individual  has  his  god ;  some 
have  bad  and  some  good  gods  in  their  indi- 
viduality, and  their  characters  show  accordingly. 
All  of  these  different  manifestations  of  God  in 
man  through  the  spirit  are:  controlled  by  the 
proper  or  improper  development  of  the  organiza- 
tion and  training  of  the  individual.  The  life  ele- 
ment and  spirit  of  God  Is  capable  of  combining 
with  any  phase  of  human  existence.  While  God  is 
manifest  everywhere,  and  there  is  a  way  provided 
for  man's  progression,  spiritually,  mentally  and 
morally,  man  can  divert  the  upward  trend  if  he 
wishes  to  do  so,  or  take  the  wrong  course  in  life 
and  reap  the  results  of  his  own  waywardness.  If 
a  man  falls,  it  is  his  fault  and  not  the  fault 
of  God  in  His  wise  provision  for  man's  ultimate 
redemption.  It  may  not  be  the  fault  of  the  in- 
dividual man,  but  the.  fault,  in  every  case,  rests 
with  the  individual  or  in  his  progenitors.  A  man 
to  be  right  must  be  born  right.     If  he  is  not 


174  LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

bom  right,  the  laws  of  God  have  been  disregarded 
and  the  unfortunate  result  follows.  Let  it  be 
noted  here  that  God  never  punishes  any  man: 
if  an  individual  violates  one  of  the  laws  of  God, 
the  violated  law  punishes  him,  and  not  God. 

THE  HOLY  GHOST 

What  a  beauty  and  pleasure  as  well  as  profit 
it  is  to  understand  the  science  of  the  spirit  side 
of  life,  which  Jesus  taught  by  example,  but 
which  has  been  lost  to  the  conception  of  men  in 
their  race  after  impractical  chimeras  based  only 
in  dogmas  and  theories  without  a  foundation 
on  which  to  build.? 

We  have  no  evidence  that  Jesus  was  an  edu- 
cated man  in  the  schools  of  ancient  philosophy. 
He  cannot  be  ranked  with  Thales,  Pythagoras, 
Aristotle,  Plato,  and  their  compeers  in  philoso- 
phy and  learning;  but  in  the  science  of  spiritual 
things,  the  basis  of  all  science  as  well  as  all 
existence,  they  were  to  him  as  a  tallow  candle  to 
the  glowing  sun.  Jesus  lived  so  close  to  God  that 
he  knew  without  learning,  he  comprehended  and 
explained  without  going  through  the  process  of 
analysis  and  synthesis.  He  spoke,  and  his  words 
were  wisdom.  He  taught  as  never  man  taught. 
His  life  was  light  leading  men  out  of  darkness 
into  the  glories  of  God  eternal.  The  founda- 
tion on  which  he  builded  was  the  eternal  rock  of 
truth  resting  in  the  bosom  of  God.  He  taught 
science  by  practice  more  than  by  precept.     The 


WHO  WAS  JESUS?  175 

science  that  he  taught  is  that  occult  power  of 
God  underlj'ing  every  physical  phenomenon  of 
nature. 

With  Jesus  was  introduced  the  word  "  Holy 
Ghost"  designating  the  difference  between  an  an- 
gel from  the  celestial  spheres  and  the  departing 
spirit  of  man  at  the  time  of  death.  They  both 
mean  the  same  thing  only  in  different  degrees 
of  purification.  "  Then  Abraham  gave  up  the 
ghost,  and  died  in  a  good  old  age,  an  old  man, 
and  full  of  years,  and  was  gathered  to  his  peo- 
ple." Gen.  XXV.  8.  "  In  delivering  his  promises 
to  Abram,  God  said,  Thou  shalt  go  to  thy 
fathers  in  peace,  thou  shalt  be  buried  in  a  good 
old  age."  Gen.  xv.  15.  "And  Isaac  gave  up  the 
ghost  and  died,  and  was  gathered  unto  his  peo- 
ple." Gen.  XXXV.  29.  *'  When  Jacob  had  made 
an  end  of  commanding  his  sons,  he  gathered  up 
his  feet  in  bed  and  yielded  up  the  ghost,  and  was 
gathered  to  his  people."  Gen.  ixl.  33.  "  But 
man  dieth  and  wasteth  away,  yea,  man  giveth  up 
the  ghost,  and  where  is  he?  "     Job  xiv.  10. 

It  is  evident  that  in  the  Old  Testament  ghost 
was  that  element  of  man  that  left  the  body  at  the 
time  of  death,  and  went  to  its  fathers.  The 
same  meaning  of  the  departing  spirit  of  man  at 
the  time  of  death  is  recognized  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, and  most  forcibly  presented  in  the  death 
of  our  Lord.  "  When  Jesus,  therefore,  had  re- 
ceived the  vinegar,  he  said,  It  is  finished ;  and  he 
bowed  his  head,  and  gave  up  the  ghost."     Matt. 


176     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

xxvii.  50.  Mark  xv.  37.  Luke  xxiii.  46.  John 
xix.  30.  The  giving  up  of  the  ghost  is  the 
act  of  yielding  up  the  spirit  at  the  time  of  death. 
When  that  spirit,  or  ghost,  is  purified  and  ad- 
vanced it  becomes  holy  and  is  then  qualified  to  be 
a  messenger  of  God,  doing  His  will  and  perform- 
ing services  appertaining  to  their  exalted  position. 
It  is  difficult  for  those  who  do  not  understand 
the  science  of  the  spirit  side  of  life  to  at  once 
comprehend  the  action  of  the  spirit  on  persons 
yet  in  their  physical  form.  They  cannot  com- 
prehend how  an  individual  in  a  spirit  condition 
can  as  a  spiritual  force  enter  into  the  person 
and  mind  of  an  individual  in  the  physical  con- 
dition, and  control  him.  The  spirit  of  man  is 
an  organized  entity ;  or,  more  plainly,  a  man 
after  death  is  as  much  an  organized  being  as  one 
in  the  flesh ;  but  the  nature  of  that  organization 
is  different.  For  one  is  organized  in  the  form  of 
a  physical  body,  the  other  is  organized  as  a 
spiritual  body;  one  is  ponderable  and  subject  to 
our  five  senses,  the  other  is  imponderable,  as  our 
thoughts  are  Imponderable.  Now  there  is  a 
thought  substance  in  nature,  which  acts  on  the 
brain  as  its  battery  as  electricity  acts  on  an 
electric  battery.  Now  the  battery  does  not 
create  electricity,  but  is  the  instrument  through 
which  electricity  acts  in  the  transmission  of  mes- 
sages. On  the  same  principle  the  brain  is  a  bat- 
tery through  which  thoughts  are  assimilated  and 
sent  forth. 


WHO  WAS  JESUS?  177 

Thought  force,  that  is,  mental  intelligence,  and 
life  force,  is  what  the  spirit  of  man  is  composed 
of.  The  brain,  being  a  battery  through  which 
the  power  of  thought  acts  and  manifests  itself, 
is  acted  upon  by  outside  influences.  The  thoughts 
of  one  man  stimulate  the  person  of  another  in  the 
physical  body  in  many  ways,  most  usually 
through  the  organ  of  speech,  but  not  altogether 
by  speech,  by  any  means.  It  can  be  done  by  the 
eye,  by  conduct,  and  in  many  ways  which  we  all 
understand.  Now  the  spirit  of  man,  being  of 
the  substance  of  thought,  can  and  does  penetrate 
the  brain  of  living,  people  and  impress  them  to 
action  through  the  power  of  thought,  which  is 
so  natural  that  the  individual  thinks  it  is  his 
own  mind  that  is  working,  when  perhaps  it  is 
the  mind  of  some  invisible  power. 

Does  not  magnetism  infuse  itself  all  through  the 
system  of  man?  Do  not  infectious  diseases  im- 
pregnate the  body?  Do  not  poisonous  gases 
destroy  the  physical  by  penetrating  into  the 
system?  Does  not  the  brain  of  man  become 
crazed  by  intoxicants?  Is  it  not  the  fact  that 
fear  often  produces  death,  when  there  is  no  other 
harm  to  the  body  than  that  which  comes  through 
the  brain?  These  occult  forces  have  wonderful 
power  on  the  human  system.  Then,  again,  let 
us  consider  this  fact.  Man,  in  the  physical,  is 
a  caged  spirit,  undergoing  gestation  in  the  body, 
and  when  he  dies  he  is  born  into  another  condition, 
and  if  he  has  not  finished  his  growth  here  he  must 


178    LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

complete  it  over  there, —  not  his  physical,  but 
the  man  himself,  the  spirit,  because  the  spirit 
is  the  man. 

Now  the  spirit  of  man  in  the  body  and  the 
spirit  out  of  the  body  are  of  the  same  nature, 
only  one  is  free  and  the  other  confined.  The 
free  spirit  can  act  upon  and  influence  the  con- 
fined spirit  and  the  confined  spirit  can  influence 
the  free  spirit  in  this  way.  Thoughts  are  pictures, 
or  entities  in  the  form  of  mental  pictures.  No  one 
can  think  of  an  object,  without  it  being  pictured 
before  him.  Try  the  experiment.  Can  you  think 
of  nothing?  You  must  have  something  to  think 
about,  and  that  something  is  always  produced  in 
the  form  of  a  picture  on  the  brain.  Outside 
spirits  can  send  those  pictures  on  the  mentality 
of  an  individual  in  more  ways  than  one.  The 
invisible  powers  of  nature  are  greater  than  the 
visible,  ponderable  ones.  In  our  usual  way  of 
viewing  things  we  recognize  the  solidity  of  the 
minerals  of  the  earth,  such  as  iron,  manufactured 
steel,  granite,  the  diamond,  quartz,  as  the  sub- 
stantial of  the  earth  structure,  spending  our 
lives  in  studying  their  properties  and  uses  to 
man,  while  the  truth  is  they  are  the  weakest  of 
all  nature.  The  invisible  forces  that  constructed 
them  can  and  do  tear  them  down  and  detroy 
them,  or  return  them  to  their  original  condition 
before  they  were  formed  into  tangible  objects 
for  our  uses. 

Let  us  not,  in  our  supercilious  ignorance,  dis- 


WHO  WAS  JESUS?  179 

regard  those  invisible  forces ;  the  most  powerful 
of  them  all  is  the  power  of  mind,  the  power 
of  THOUGHT.  God  thought,  and  his  moving 
power,  saturated  with  His  infinite  intelligence, 
made  the  earth  and  all  things  contained  therein. 
Of  that  thought  of  God,  one  of  His  constituents 
is  the  spirit  or  living  attributes  of  himself,  a 
part  of  which  is  in  man ;  and  that  spiritual  force, 
to  an  extent,  is  individualized  and  made  the  serv- 
ant of  its  Master,  which  servant  is  independent 
to  a  certain  extent,  but  yet  in  general  is  sub- 
servient to  the  God  who  made  it. 

What  is  the  Holy  Ghost?  We  have  shown, 
from  the  Bible  and  the  New  Testament,  that  the 
ghost  of  man  is  his  departing  spirit  at  the  time 
of  death.  As  the  sequence,  then,  the  Holy  Ghost 
is  a  Glorified  Spirit,  or  Holy  Spirit,  for  those 
are  convertible  terms,  and  used  in  that  way  all 
through  the  New  Testament.  What  proofs  have 
we  of  that  assertion?  The  highest  evidence  of 
heaven  and  earth,  that  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
When  Jesus  was  trying  to  enlighten  the  Jews 
upon  spiritual  matters,  he  was  compelled  to  use 
language  that  conveyed  a  double  sense,  a  physical 
sense  to  them,  for  they  knew  nothing  of  spiritual 
matters,  and  a  spiritual  sense,  to  those  spiritually 
enlightened.  It  is  unfoa-tunate  that  so  many 
people  can  only  comprehend  the  physical  side  of 
life  now,  spuming,  to  their  own  injury  and 
debasement,  spiritual  truths.  Listen  to  the  words 
of  Our  Lord  and  drink  them  in  as  the  spiritual 


180     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

waters  of  heaven,  the  wine  of  life  eternal.  When 
the  Pharisees,  unable  to  answer  the  advanced 
truths  of  Jesus,  resorted  to  force,  as  some  to- 
day when  they  are  unable  to  answer  an  argument 
on  divine  subjects  resort  to  the  force  of  shallow 
sarcasm,  appealed  to  the  chief  priests  and  requested 
them  to  take  Jesus  into  custody.  Seeing  their  ig- 
norant tribulation  and  the  impulses  of  evil  in  the 
shadow  of  darkness,  Jesus  broke  into  tears,  his 
heart  melted  at  their  stubborn  condition,  and  he 
exclaimed,  with  outstretched  hands,  "  '  If  any  man 
thirst,  let  him  come  unto  me  and  drink,  come 
and  drink,  drink  from  the  fountain  of  spiritual 
truths  and  you  will  never  thirst  again.  He  who 
believes  on  me,  out  of  his  belly  shall  flow  rivers 
of  living  water.'  But  spake  he  of  the  spirit,  which 
they  who  believe  on  him  should  receive ;  for  the 
Holy  Ghost  was  not  yet  given,  because  that 
Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified."     John  vii.  37—39. 

In  analyzing  this  teaching  of  Our  Lord,  we 
observe  two  conditions:  one,  the  power  of  the 
spirit  on  those  who  believed  on  him  at  that  time. 

He  would  bestow  on  those  who  came  and  believed 
a  certain  spiritual  power ;  but  he  could  not  bestow 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  because  he  had  not 
yet  been  glorified.  The  Holy  Ghost  was  of  a 
higher  nature  than  that  of  the  spirit,  and  even 
Jesus  could  not  bestow  that  power  until  he  was 
fitted  for  that  holy  office,  until  he  was  Glorified, 
that  is,  duly  empowered.  After  this  Jesus  was 
anointed  by  God  with  the  power  of  the   Holy 


WHO  WAS  JESUS?  181 

Ghost.  Peter  told  the  people  of  Caesarea  how 
God  anomted  Jesus  of  Nazareth  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  with  power,  who  went  about  doing 
good  and  healing  all  that  were  oppressed  with 
the  devil,  for  God  was  with  him.  Acts  x.  38. 
Hope  maketh  not  ashamed;  because  the  Love  of 
God  is  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  which  is  given  unto  us.     Rom.  v.  5. 

In  the  first  epistle  of  Peter,  he  speaks  of  those 
who  preached  the  gospel  with  the  Holy  Ghost 
sent  down  from  heaven  of  the  things  which  the 
angels  desired  to  look  into.  I.  Peter  i.  12. 
At  the  Pentecost  those  present  were  filled  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  and  spake  as  the  spirit  gave 
them  utterance.  Acts  ii.  4.  Acts  iv.  31.  Look 
ye  out  seven  men,  of  honest  report,  full  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  wisdom,  whom  we  may  appoint 
over  this  business.  Acts  vi.  3.  Simon,  a  man  who 
used  sorcery,  was  baptized  by  Philip  at  Samaria. 
When  he  ascertained  the  fact  that  he  did  not  have 
the  power  to  bestow  the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
by  laying  on  of  hands,  he  offered  Peter  money 
for  the  gift.  Peter  said  unto  him,  "  Thy  money 
perish  with  thee,  because  thou  hast  thought  that 
the  gifts  of  God  may  be  purchased  with  money." 
Acts  vii.  15-17. 

God  did  not  only  have  messengers  serving  him 
under  the  title  and  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  but 
there  were  angels  also  in  the  service  of  the  Lord. 
And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  spake  unto  Philip,  say- 
ing, Arise,  and  go  toward  the  south,  unto  the  way 


18^     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

that  goeth  down  to  Jerusalem  unto  Gaza,  which  is 
desert.  Then  the  spirit  said  unto  Philip,  Go 
near,  and  join  thyself  unto  this  chariot.  Acts 
viii.  26,  29. 

After  the  crucifixion  of  our  Lord  the  disciples 
being  assembled  together  at  eventide,  when  the 
doors  were  shut  for  fear  of  the  Jews,  Jesus  came 
and  stood  in  the  midst  of  them  and  after  proving 
to  them  that  he  was  the  arisen  Christ  breathed 
on  them  and  said  unto  them,  Receive  ye  the  Holy 
Ghost.  John  xx.  19-22.  I  will  pour  out  my 
spirit  upon  all  flesh  and  your  sons  and  your 
daughters  shall  prophesy ;  your  young  men  shall 
see  visions,  and  your  old  men  shall  dream  dreams. 
Repent  ye  and  be  baptized  every  one  of  you  in 
the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  ye  shall  receive 
the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Acts  ii.  1,  40.  And 
they  were  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  they 
spake  the  words  of  God  with  boldness.  Acts 
iv.   21. 

In  Paul's  travels  he  came  to  Ephesus  and 
he  there  found  certain  disciples  who  had  been 
recently  converted  to  the  faith.  He  said  unto 
them.  Have  ye  received  the  Holy  Ghost  since  ye 
believed.'*  And  they  said  unto  him.  We  have 
not  so  much  as  heard  if  there  be  any  Holy  Ghost. 
Paul  baptized  them  and  laid  his  hands  upon  them, 
and  the  Holy  Ghost  came  upon  them ;  and  they 
spake  with  tongues  and  prophesied.  Acts  ix  6. 
Paul,  in  speaking  to  the  church  of  God  which  is 
at  Corinth,  of  the  revelations  of  God  to  them 


WHO  WAS  JESUS?  183 

informs  us  plainly  that  God  reveals  things  unto 
man  through  the  agency  of  the  spirit,  drawing 
a  distinction  between  the  perception  of  the  natu- 
ral man  and  the  spiritual  man.  The  natural  re- 
ceiveth  not  the  things  of  the  spirit  of  God  for 
they  are  foolishness  unto  him ;  neither  can  he 
know  them,  because  they  are  spiritually  discerned. 
The  Holy  Ghost  compares  spiritual  things  with 
spiritual.     I.  Cor.  ii.  11-14. 

THE  BIRTH  OF  JESUS 

No  one  knows  when  or  where  Jesus  was  bom. 
It  is  conceded,  however,  that  he  was  bom  at  least 
four  years  before  the  commonly  accepted  time 
which  begins  the  Christian  era.  The  place  of  his 
birth  is  also  a  matter  of  uncertainty.  The  Au- 
thorized Version  of  the  New  Testament  fixes  the 
place  of  his  birth  in  a  manger  in  the  city  of 
Bethlehem,  which  is  about  five  miles  south  and 
east  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem.  The  Apocryphal 
New  Testament  places  his  birth  in  a  cave  near 
the  city  of  Bethlehem. 

When  we  consider  the  state  of  the  country,  the 
habits  and  intellectual  development  of  the  people 
at  that  time,  both  among  the  Romans  and  the 
Jews,  we  may  not  think  strange  that  the  chron- 
ology of  our  Lord  is  buried  in  uncertainty.  It 
is  also  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  "  Christ  glori- 
fied not  himself."  It  was  the  habit  and  purpose 
of  Jesus,  all  through  his  life,  to  keep  self  out 
of  sight,  but  his  mission  always  prominent  before 


184.     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

the  people.  At  the  time  of  the  advent  of  Jesus 
into  the  world  and  throughout  the  duration  of 
his  ministry,  the  Jews  were  under  the  master- 
ship of  the  Romans,  under  whose  yoke  they 
struggled,  mutinied,  and  conspired.  The  Romans 
hated  the  Jews  and  the  Jews  detested  the  Romans. 
That  which  Rome  wanted  Judea  hated.  That 
which  the  Jews  wanted  the  Romans  forbade. 
There  was  no  congeniality  between  them.  Under 
the  Roman  yoke,  moral  decadence  fell  heavily  on 
the  great  body  of  the  Jewish  nation,  while  at  the 
same  time  Rome  commenced  to  totter  to  her  very 
foundations.  Her  glory  was  fast  fading  and 
melting  into  the  lascivious  debaucheries  of  the 
emperor,  Tiberius,  and  Might  laughed  at  the 
appeals  of  Right,  while  all  forms  of  heart  moving 
religion  were  neglected.  Spirituality  was  a  lost 
sentiment.  General  morality  found  no  home  in 
the  public  heart.  The  art  of  war,  the  love  of  lux- 
ury, and  sensual  gratification  absorbed  the  public 
mind. 

Considering  the  wrongs  and  oppressions  that 
were  then  fastened  upon  the  helpless  people,  why 
should  they  not  rejoice  and  pass  into  the  ecstacy 
of  delight  at  the  advent  of  a  deliverer.''  Not 
that  kind  of  a  deliverer  that  uses  force  against 
force,  but  it  was  the  coming  of  that  deliverer 
which  spoke  "  peace  "  to  the  hearts  of  those  who 
loved  him.  And  an  angel  of  heaven  in  a  voice 
of  cheer  announced  to  the  shepherds  in  the  fields, 
who  were  trembling  at  the  unexpected  appearance 


WHO  WAS  JESUS?  185 

of  those  celestial  messengers,  "  Fear  not,  for  be- 
hold I  bring  you  tidings  of  great  joy,  which 
shall  be  unto  all  people,  for  unto  you  is  bom 
this  day,  in  the  city  of  David,  a  Savior,  which 
is  Christ  the  Lord.  And  this  shall  be  a  sign  unto 
you,  ye  shall  find  the  babe  wrapped  in  swaddling 
clothes,  lying  in  a  manger."  Luke  ii.  10.  And 
with  the  angel  who  brought  the  good  news  to  the 
poor  men  of  the  field  was  "  a  multitude  of  the 
heavenly  host,  praising  God,  and  saying.  Glory  to 
God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  good-will 
toward  men." 

And  there,  timid  and  joyful  beyond  expression, 
lay  in  the  lowly  manger,  in  the  very  arms  of 
poverty  and  neglect,  the  Mother  of  our  Lord. 
No  wonder  she  was  speechless ;  words  were  too 
weak  and  expressionless  to  impart  her  heart  throbs 
of  pleasure  as  she  saw  in  her  own  arms  her  young 
child.  Mary,  the  mother  of  God,  transcendentally 
pure,  beautiful  in  her  simplicity,  glorious  in  her 
motherhood,  the  adored  of  the  adorable  and  the 
choice  of  God  for  the  most  sacred  gift  unto  the 
world,  the  gift  of  the  promise  of  heaven  and  the 
love  of  God.  The  angel  proclaimed  her  services, 
the  wise  men  knelt  around  her  bed  of  straw,  while 
the  oped  eyes  of  the  babe,  in  its  first  look  of  love, 
in  silence  exquisite,  first  greeted  her  as  mother. 

And  even  that  child,  whose  mission  was  only 
to  help  and  save  humanity,  was  conspired  against 
by  the  powers  of  government  and  his  young  life 
sought  to  be  cut  off  by  him  whose  sworn  duty 


186     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

it  was  to  preserve  order  and  protect  the  citizen 
in  all  grades  of  society  as  long  as  that  citizen 
was  unoffending  to  the  laws ;  but  the  hatred  of 
Herod  knew  no  bounds,  and  his  wily  vigilance 
sought  the  life  of  the  babe  whom  he  professed 
that  he  wished  to  worship,  as  a  veil  of  expression 
to  the  wise  men  that  he  might  obtain  from  them 
the  way  of  murder.  Oh,  crime  detestable,  which 
induced  Herod,  the  wicked,  to  cause  to  be  slain 
all  the  male  children  two  years  of  age  and 
under  in  Bethlehem  and  the  coast  round  about  in 
order  to  catch  the  babe  bom  in  the  lowly  manger. 
But  it  was  not  to  be.  Jesus  came  for  a  pur- 
pose bom  of  God,  who  was  able  to  protect  him 
against  the  deepest  plans  of  villainous  depravity ; 
and  one  of  his  angels  went  to  Joseph  in  a  dream 
and  warned  him  of  the  pending  design  and  di- 
rected him  to  take  the  young  babe  and  his  mother 
and  flee  into  Egypt  and  there  remain  until 
word  was  brought  to  him  to  return.  On  the 
information  that  those  who  sought  the  young 
child's  life  were  dead,  Joseph  returned  and  went 
to  the  village  of  Nazareth. 

THE   STAR   IN  THE  EAST 

Now  when  Jesus  was  bom  in  Bethlehem  of  Ju- 
dea  in  the  days  of  Herod  the  king.  Behold  there 
came  wise  men  from  the  east  to  Jerusalem,  saying, 
Where  is  he  that  is  bom  king  of  the  Jews.?  For 
we  have  seen  his  star  in  the  east  and  have  come  to 
worship   him.     Matt.    ii.    1,   2. 


WHO  WAS  JESUS?  187 

The  phenomenon  of  the  appearance  of  the 
star  to  the  wise  men  of  the  east  which  guided 
them  to  where  the  new  bom  child  lay  in  the  lowly 
manger  at  Bethlehem  has  been  a  perplexing  puz- 
zle for  the  theologians  of  all  the  past  ages  to 
solve.  With  us,  with  our  present-day  knowledge 
of  spiritual  things,  with  the  light  of  science,  his- 
tory, and  the  Bible,  we  see  no  difficulty  at  all  in 
its  explanation.  In  the  first  place  the  wise  men 
of  the  east  were  Magians,  a  learned  class  of  men 
who  lived  in  the  valleys  of  the  Tigris  and  Eu- 
phrates. From  that  class  of  minds,  both  learned 
and  devout,  sprang  the  genius  of  the  Bible.  It 
was  from  this  class  of  men  that  Abram  derived 
his  learning,  training,  and  spiritual  associations 
with  God.  Let  us  understand  that  God  always 
produces  results  through  his  instruments,  which 
sometimes  are  men,  sometimes  angels  chosen  and 
selected  for  a  particular  purpose,  sometimes  the 
lower  spirits  and  sometimes  the  elements  of  nature. 

The  star  that  pointed  out  our  Savior  has  been 
reckoned  by  some  to  have  been  a  veritable  star 
from  the  stellar  deep,  but  a  second  thought  dis- 
sipates any  such  idea,  for  it  would  take  the  nearest 
star  4,500  years,  flying  with  the  speed  of  a 
cannon  ball,  to  reach  our  earth,  and  when  arrived 
here  it  would  be  many  hundred  times  larger  than 
the  earth.  Prof.  Kepler  tried  to  trace  the  con- 
junction of  Jupiter,  Saturn,  and  Mars,  occurring 
in  1604,  back  to  the  conjunction  of  Jupiter  and 
Saturn  in  the  latter  half  of  the  year  of  Rome, 


188     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

747,  which  conjunction  was  joined  by  Mars  in  the 
year  748 ;  and  by  this  reasoning  he  thinks  he 
discovered  the  year  of  the  birth  of  the  Lord, 
and  that  it  was  this  conjunction  which  notified 
the  wise  men  of  that  great  event.  All  such  spec- 
ulations are  too  fallacious  to  attract  serious  atten- 
tion, especially  when  we  have  that  better  author- 
ity, the  Bible  and  New  Testament.  Let  us  always 
keep  in  mind  that  the  priesthood  of  Jesus  was 
that  of  Melchizedek,  the  priest  of  the  most 
HIGH  GOD,  and  that  the  old  law  was  to  be 
set  aside  and  another  priesthood  and  a  New  Testa- 
ment given  to  the  world.  Before  this  time  the 
blessings  of  God  were  claimed  to  be  for  the  Jews 
alone,  but  Jesus  broke  the  thrall  of  that  belief 
and  became  a  savior  of  the  whole  world  and  not 
of  a  small  petty  few,  the  Jews.  This  fact  throws 
a  great  deal  of  light  on  the  fact  that  it  was  to 
the  wise  men  of  the  East  that  the  star  first  ap- 
peared ;  they  were  not  of  the  Jews ;  they  were 
Magians,  whose  devotion  to  God  and  knowl- 
edge of  spiritual  tilings  made  them  fit  instru- 
ments, in  the  hands  of  God,  to  bring  the 
"  glad  tidings  of  great  joy  "  first  to  the  world. 
The  star  that  preceded  the  wise  men  was  no 
other  than  a  spiritual  light,  emanating  from  an 
angel  of  the  Lord  sent  to  the  wise  men  for  the 
purpose  of  notif3ang  them  of  the  holy  advent. 
The  appearance  of  this  star  was  prophesied 
fully  fifteen  hundred  years  before  it  came,  and 
this  prophecy  was  the  key  to  the  nature  of  the 


WHO  WAS  JESUS?  189 

star  that  actually  appeared.  In  this  connection 
let  us  call  attention  to  the  prophecy  of  Balaam. 
This  same  prophecy  throws  a  great  deal  of  light 
on  the  condition  of  sensitives,  who  in  this  day 
receive  illuminations,  both  mentally  and  spiritually, 
from  the  spirit  world.  Balaam  was  a  trance 
medium,  as  there  are  many  in  this  day,  but  none 
of  equal  endowments  because  they  are  not  devout 
and  clean  of  body,  mind  and  soul,  or  God  would 
speak  through  them  as  he  did  in  olden  times. 
The  spirit  that  entranced  Balaam  enabled  him  to 
speak  with  his  eyes  open ;  mediums  of  this  day 
have  their  eyes  closed.  Balaam  falling  into  a 
trance  having  his  eyes  open  prophesied :  "  I 
shall  see  him  but  not  now ;  I  shall  behold  him  but 
not  nigh ;  there  shall  come  a  star  out  of 

JACOB,     AND      a     sceptre      SHALL     RISE      OUT      OF 

ISRAEL,  and  shall  smite  the  corners  of  Moab, 
and  destroy  all  the  children  of  Sheth."  Num. 
xxiv.  17. 

This  was  a  parable  and  cannot  be  taken  in  its 
literal  sense,  as  no  parable  can.  Of  course  it 
was  a  prophecy  of  the  advent  of  our  Lord  and 
the  star  that  preceded  the  wise  men.  Jesus  was 
a  physical  descendant  of  Jacob  and  out  of  that 
line  should  a  star  appear  which  should  be  the 
light  of  the  world.  "  I  shall  see  him  but  not  now ; 
I  shall  behold  him  but  not  nigh."  Spiritually 
speaking,  Jesus  came  as  the  life  and  light  of 
the  ATorld.  That  idea  is  sufficiently  made  clear 
all  through  the  New  Testament. 


190    LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

The  star  appeared  to  the  wise  men  in  the  east 
far  across  the  desert  of  Assyria.  Before  begin- 
ning their  journey,  which  must  have  been  some 
time  before  the  actual  birth  of  Jesus  as  it  was 
a  long  way  from  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates 
to  Bethlehem,  they  prepared  themselves  with  rich 
and  costly  presents  for  the  babe.  From  this  fact 
it  is  evident  that  they  knew  that  the  Savior  was 
to  be  bom  at  that  time.  When  Herod  had  in- 
quired of  them  what  time  the  star  appeared  and 
had  sent  them  to  Bethlehem  commanding  them  to 
go  there  and  search  for  the  young  child  and  bring 
him  word  that  he  might  go  and  worship  him, 
and  they  had  started,  "  lo  the  star,  which  they 
saw  in  the  east,  went  before  them  until  it 
came  and  stood  over  where  the  young  child  was." 
Mat.  ii.  9,  10.  This  star  could  not  have  been 
other  than  a  spirit  light,  conducting  the  wise  men 
to  the  very  spot.  This  was  a  light  guided  by 
some  intelligent  force  and  from  what  we  read 
of  it,  we  must  know  it  was  an  angelic  visita- 
tion for  at  that  very  time  as  the  shepherds  were 
abiding  in  the  field  keeping  watch  by  night  over 
their  flocks,  "  the  angel  of  the  Lord  came  upon 
them,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shone  round 
about  them  and  they  were  sore  afraid,"  but  the 
angel  told  them  to  "  fear  not,  for  unto  you  is  born 
this  day,  in  the  city  of  David,  a  Savior,  which 
is  Christ  the  Lord."  Luke  ii.  9-11.  And  there 
were  with  the  angels  "  a  multitude  of  the  heavenly 
host  praising  God  and  saying.  Glory  to  God  in  the 


WHO  WAS  JESUS?  191 

highest  and  on  earth  peace,  good-will  unto  man." 
After  the  angels  went  away  into  heaven  the  shep- 
herds went  to  Bethlehem  and  there  found  Mary 
and  Joseph  and  the  babe  lying  in  a  manger,  and 
they  returned  praising  and  glorifying  God,  for 
they  had  seen  what  the  angels  had  told  them  of. 
It  seems  as  though  some  strain  effort  to  build 
fabulous  stories  out  of  many  occurrences  re- 
corded in  the  Bible  as  though  people  must  have 
wonderful  stories  impressed  on  their  minds  in 
order  to  believe  in  the  existence  of  God,  or  the 
divinity  of  the  Master,  when  the  simple  story 
to  informed  people  is  all-sufficient  to  impress  the 
truth,  while  those  exaggerations  make  infidels  and 
disbelievers  in  the  world.  When  we  comprehend 
the  fact  that  there  are  two  sides  to  nature,  one  a 
physical  and  the  other  a  spiritual  side,  we  will 
then  understand  the  workings  of  the  two  and 
that  which  to  the  ignorant  and  uninitiated  seems 
miraculous  or  absurd,  will  be  but  plain,  simple 
facts,  all  produced  according  to  the  laws  of 
nature  and  the  powers  that  be. 


JESUS'  EARLY  LIFE 

It  is  a  difficult  task  to  write  the  childhood  of 
Jesus  from  the  fact  that  there  is  so  little  said 
about  him  in  the  authorized  version  of  the  New 
Testament,  and  the  Apocryphal  New  Testament 
is  so  extravagant  in  its  expressions  that  it  is  un- 
safe to  give  it  credence  except  in  those  points 
that  address  themselves  to  our  good  sense  and 
judgment. 

We  gather  enough  from  the  two  editions  of 
the  New  Testament  to  warrant  us  in  saying  that 
Jesus  came  from  poor  parentage,  that  Joseph 
was  a  carpenter  working  at  his  trade  to  earn  a 
support  for  his  family,  of  which  there  were  two 
branches,  one  by  his  first  wife  and  the  other 
from  Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus.  We  have  no 
data  from  which  we  can  judge  of  the  number 
of  children  in  the  family ;  of  Mary's  children,  by 
Joseph,  there  were  James,  Joses,  Simon  and 
Judas.  Jesus  had  sisters  also  but  we  have  no 
record  of  the  number  or  names. 

After  Joseph  returned  from  his  sojourn  in 
Egypt,  where  he  went  by  direction  of  an  angel 
to  escape  the  evil  designs  of  Herod  on  the  life 
of  the  babe,  they  took  up  their  residence  at  Naza- 
reth. The  village  of  Nazareth  was  not  only  in- 
192 


JESUS'  EARLY  LIFE  193 

significant  but  the  inhabitants  were  looked  upon 
with  disfavor ;  they  were  not  educated ;  they  were 
rude  in  manners  and  regarded  with  contempt  by 
the  Judeans.  When  the  reputation  of  Jesus  be- 
gan to  excite  the  minds  of  the  people  it  was 
asked,  "  Can  any  good  thing  come  from  Naza- 
reth ?  "  It  seems  as  though  Jesus  as  a  person 
had  everything  to  contend  with,  family  poverty, 
want  of  education,  a  residence  in  an  insignificant 
place  and  a  member  of  a  rough,  uncultured, 
despised  people,  as  all  Galileans  were  in  the  esti- 
mation of  the  Judeans.  Nothing  but  sterling 
worth  and  properties  of  mind  and  soul  superior 
to  others  could  have  brought  the  young  Nazarene 
into  prominence  at  that  period  of  the  world's 
history ;  for  at  that  time  every  department  of 
society  was  running  riot.  All  kinds  of  spiritu- 
ality had  been  dethroned  and  sensualism,  war,  op- 
pression, intrigue,  and  murder  for  place  and 
preferment  were  the  order  of  the  times.  To 
turn  the  minds  of  the  people  to  a  higher  thought 
and  appreciation  seemed  to  be  more  the  work  of 
Divinity  than  of  a  poor,  uneducated,  and  unpor- 
tentious  youth.  Had  he  not  had  the  favors  and 
spiritual  powers  of  God  within  him,  Jesus  could 
have  done  nothing  in  the  way  of  teaching  the 
people  the  facts  of  higher  truths  and  a  grander 
destiny  for  man  than  to  eat,  drink,  fight,  con- 
tend, and  die  as  was  the  thought  of  that  age. 

Jesus  did  not  have  to  be  educated  to  impart 
the  knowledge  and  perform  the  wonders  he  did 


194.  LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

before  and  among  that  people.  He  lived  so  close 
to  the  source  of  Divine  wisdom  that  he  knew 
everything  without  learning.  The  battery  of  his 
mind  was  so  developed  that  when  a  question 
came  up  for  his  mental  solution  the  proper  facts 
clothed  in  proper  language  were  impressed  upon 
him.  He  could  do  nothing  within  himself,  but 
the  Father  working  in  and  through  him  was  the 
demonstrating  factor  that  pushed  aside  the  veil 
of  the  two  worlds  and  gave  him  a  knowledge  of 
a  future  state  of  existence  and  how  best  to  act  to 
obtain  the  highest  blessings  of  both  the  here  and 
hereafter.  Some  will  perhaps  call  the  powers  of 
Jesus,  as  exhibited  during  his  ministry,  divine 
entrancement,  others  may  call  it  inspiration,  and 
others  intuition,  all  of  which  powers  are  well 
known  to  those  versed  in  the  occult  forces  of 
mentality.  Jesus  was  strongly  endowed  with 
mental  powers  far  superior  to  his  years  and  the 
culture  of  the  age.  This  we  learn  from  what 
little  is  said  of  him  by  Luke,  "  And  the  child 
grew,  and  waxed  strong  in  spirit,  filled  with  wis- 
dom ;  and  the  grace  of  God  was  upon  him." 
Luke  ii.  40.  He  did  not  have  to  go  to  school 
as  other  children  who  desired  to  become  educated 
and  wise.  He  was  strong  of  spirit  and  filled  with 
wisdom  softened  and  beautified  with  the  grace  of 
God,  which  was  upon  him. 

There  could  have  been  no  better  place  than 
Nazareth  for  his  bringing  up.  He  lived  among 
that   simple   people   without   ostentation    or   the 


JESUS'  EARLY  LIFE  195 

spirit  of  pride  being  aroused  within  him.  He 
lived  as  a  natural  child  among  the  foothills  of 
Lebanon,  with  no  allurements  to  attract  his  at- 
tention from  the  contemplation  of  nature  in  its 
crude  and  simple  form.  There  was  nothing  so 
good  for  this  child  of  nature  as  independent 
poverty.  He  was  not  a  pauper,  neither  was  he 
a  luxurist.  His  mind,  his  muscle,  and  his  soul 
grew  and  were  cultivated  together.  This  was  the 
schooling  of  Jesus.  In  this  kind  of  a  school  he 
waxed  strong  of  spirit  and  was  filled  with  wisdom. 
These  powers  of  the  mind  of  the  child  were 
first  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  public  when 
he  went  with  his  parents  to  the  yearly  feast  of 
the  Passover  at  Jerusalem.  Jesus  was  then  twelve 
years  old,  a  mere  hardy,  sunburned  rustic  of  a 
lad,  running  around  and  mingling  with  the  peo- 
ple without  care  or  attention  from  his  parents, 
as  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  when  they  had 
accomplished  the  days  of  the  feast,  they  started 
home  and  were  a  day's  journey  out  before  they 
missed  their  child.  They  went  back  when  they 
ascertained  that  he  was  not  among  the  returning 
company,  and  searched  three  days  in  the  city  of 
Jerusalem  before  they  found  him,  and  when  they 
did  find  him  he  was  entertaining  the  learned  doc 
tors  of  the  great  city  of  Jerusalem,  by  answer- 
ing and  asking  them  questions  which  were  so 
extraordinary  that  all  who  heard  him  were  as- 
tonished at  his  knowledge  and  answers.  Could 
an  ordinary  child  have  entertained  such  a  learned 


196     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

audience  for  three  days?  Children  of  that  age 
do  not  reason  as  a  class  but  when  they  are  en- 
gaged in  conversation  of  learned  subjects  they 
simply  repeat  parrot-like  what  they  have  been 
taught  from  others,  or  from  their  books ;  but  in 
this  case,  Jesus  was  not  only  answering  astonish- 
ing questions  but  was  in  turn  propounding  ques- 
tions to  the  doctors. 

This  quality  of  mind  was  characteristic  of  Jesus 
all  through  his  life.  He  usually  spoke  in  par- 
ables and  displayed  a  unique  wisdom  unlike  that 
of  other  men.  But  the  people  did  not  under- 
stand him,  could  not  comprehend  his  parables. 
"  They  seeing  see  not ;  and  hearing  hear  not, 
neither  do  they  understand."  Matt.  xiii.  13. 
When  he  went  to  his  own  country,  and  among 
his  own  people,  with  whom  he  had  been  raised 
and  who  knew  of  his  state  of  education  and  edu- 
cational advantages  they  were  greatly  astonished 
at  the  scope  of  his  wisdom  and  knowledge,  and 
inquired  among  one  another,  "  Whence  hath  this 
man  this  wisdom  and  these  mighty  works?  Is 
not  this  the  carpenter's  son?  Is  not  his  mother 
called  Mary?  And  his  brethren  James,  and 
Joses,  and  Simon,  and  Judas?  And  his  sisters, 
are  they  not  all  with  us?  Whence  then  hath  this 
man  all  these  things?"     Matt.  xiii.  54-56. 

Here  lies  the  great  secret  of  the  wisdom  of 
Jesus,  as  exemplified  from  his  early  youth  up. 
His  mind  was  trained  to  comprehend  the  phil- 
osophy of  all  spiritual  truths  and  when  a  ques- 


JESUS'  EARLY  LIFE  197 

tion  came  up  for  his  solution,  the  wisdom  of  God 
fructified  his  brain  and  he  spoke  and  taught  as 
"  never  man  taught,"  This  endowment  was  not 
a  miracle  but  an  extraordinary  development  of 
mentality.  All  men  have  this  power  more  or  less, 
but  in  some  it  is  very  much  greater  than  in 
others.  Some  minds  comprehend  the  force  and 
bearing  of  subjects  as  soon  as  they  are  presented 
to  them,  others  cannot  comprehend  at  all.  This 
power  is  evidence  of  the  fact  that  in  nature  re- 
sides perfect  knowledge  and  wisdom,  the  brain  of 
man  is  a  battery  through  which  this  knowledge 
and  wisdom  are  manifested ;  the  more  sensitized  the 
brain  is  the  more  it  comprehends  and  the  more 
easily  it  gives  expression  to  the  facts  presented 
to  the  mind  for  solution.  Jesus,  being  abnorm- 
ally endowed,  comprehended  the  great  truths  that 
were  agitating  the  minds  of  the  people  at  the  time 
and  he  explained  them  in  such  a  manner  that  it 
astonished  the  people  and  they  inquired,  "  Whence 
hath  this  man  this  wisdom?  " 

Jesus  was  brought  into  the  world  for  a  cer- 
tain Divine  purpose;  to  answer  that  purpose  his 
early  surroundings  were  most  propitious  and  the 
lack  of  a  popular  education  is  traceable  all 
through  his  life.  His  mother  was  a  devout  and 
pious  woman,  having  been  reared  in  the  temple 
under  strict  religious  training  from  her  fourth 
year  until  her  espousal  to  Joseph,  when  she  left 
the  monastery  for  the  practical  duties  of  wife 
and  mother.     Joseph,  his  father,  was  a  poor  but 


198     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

pious  carpenter,  who  earned  a  livelihood  for  his 
family  by  his  daily  labor.  When  Jesus  was  old 
enough  he  assisted  his  father  in  his  trade  and 
what  education  he  received  was  from  the  oral 
teachings  of  his  good,  devout  mother  and  honest, 
hard-working  father. 

Let  it  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  mode  of  edu- 
cating the  youths  of  those  days  was  different 
from  the  school  training  of  to-day.  In  the  days 
of  Jesus,  students  were  taught  orally ;  they  did 
not  have  books  treating  of  different  subjects  as 
now,  but  the  learning  of  the  ages  was  carried  in 
the  minds  of  the  masters  and  given  to  students 
by  word  of  mouth.  Thus,  while  walking  on  the 
porch  Socrates  taught  in  the  open  market;  Jesus 
taught  so  as  he  went  from  place  to  place,  so 
did  Paul,  so  did  the  apostles.  The  same  habit 
was  observed  by  the  ancient  Jews,  for  it  is  cer- 
tain that  the  law  of  Moses  was  not  reduced  to 
writing  until  long  after  his  death.  The  great 
Talmud  was  carried  eight  hundred  years  in  the 
minds  of  the  priests  before  it  was  reduced  to  the 
form  of  a  book.  The  doctrines  of  the  order  of 
Masons  and  the  practical  lessons  of  that  order 
to  be  observed  by  its  members  have  been  carried 
in  the  minds  of  its  members  for  thousands  of 
years  and  are  kept  in  their  purity  because  they 
do  not  allow  them  to  be  written  and  submitted  to 
the  criticisms  of  an  ignorant  world.  For  that 
reason  they  are  kept  as  pure  and  undefiled  as 
when  they  emanated  from  the  minds  of  its 
founders  in  ancient  days. 


JESUS'  EARLY  LIFE  199 

From  the  lips  of  his  mother  and  the  teaching 
of  his  father,  Jesus  then  became  acquainted  with 
the  law  of  Moses  and  the  Prophets. 

The  old  Jewish  religion  was  a  pure  theocracy, 
in  which  it  was  impressed  on  the  minds  of  the 
Jews  that  they  were  the  chosen  people  of  God 
and  must  obey  His  mandates  and  laws.  Those 
laws  and  mandates  were  given  to  the  people  by 
the  mouths  of  the  priests  and  from  this  habit  the 
crime  of  heresy  sprang;  to  disregard  the  will  of 
God  as  given  by  the  priests  and  recorded  by  the 
prophets  was  a  great  crime  and  when  proved  or 
strongly  suspected  death  was  the  wage  at  the 
hands  of  the  executioner.  There  was  no  crime 
so  great  as  that  of  advancing  an  idea  in  contra- 
vention to  the  teachings  of  the  priesthood,  or 
questioning  their  teachings  in  the  least.  There 
never  was  a  time  when  the  priests  would  tolerate 
an  opposing  opinion.  Being  unable  to  answer 
the  honest  questioner  by,  arguments,  the  fagot 
was  usually  resorted  to  as  the  most  convincing 
evidence  of  their  right  to  dominate  opinions  in 
regard  to  religion. 

This  kind  of  argument  was  not  peculiar  to 
the  Catholic  priesthood  alone  but  has  always  been 
used  by  the  party  or  religion  in  power.  The 
Stoics  asserted  it  against  the  early  Christian 
Fathers  and  adherents  and  the  Christians  com- 
plained most  bitterly ;  but  just  as  soon  as  they 
got  in  power  they  persecuted  the  Stoics  and  all 
others   disagreeing   with   them   as   vigorously   as 


200     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

the  Stoics  had  persecuted  them ;  when  the  Refor- 
mation came  about,  tjie  CathoHc  church  left  no 
stone  unturned  to  hunt  down,  spy  out,  and 
punish  by  death  those  believing  in,  or  suspected 
of  believing  in  the  Protestant  faith;  and  as  soon 
as  the  Protestants  obtained  power,  they  hung, 
burned,  quartered,  and  tortured  the  Catholics. 
That  kind  of  religion  has  been  the  blackest  curse 
the  world  has  ever  been  subject  to.  That  in- 
tolerant feeling  and  practice  was  what  led  Jesus 
to  the  cross. 

While  those  persecutions  were  conducted  un- 
der the  name  of  the  religion  of  Jesus,  yet  not  one 
of  them  was  inflicted  but  in  direct  opposition  to 
the  true  mission  of  the  Master,  notwithstanding 
Luke  attributes  some  cruel  sayings  to  him,  such 
as :  "  Suppose  ye  that  I  have  come  to  give  peace 
on  earth?  I  tell  you.  Nay,  but  rather  division; 
for  from  henceforth  there  shall  be  five  in  one 
house  divided,  three  against  two,  and  two  against 
three.  The  father  shall  be  divided  against  the 
son,  and  the  son  against  the  father;  the  mother 
against  the  daughter  and  the  daughter  against 
the  mother;  the  mother-in-law  against  her 
daughter-in-law  and  the  daughter-in-law  against 
her  mother-in-law."     Luke  xii.  51—53. 

"  If  any  man  come  to  me  and  hate  not  his 
father,  and  mother,  and  wife,  and  children,  and 
brethren,  and  sisters,  yea,  and  his  own  life  also, 
he  cannot  be  my  disciple."     Luke  xiv.  26. 

"  But    those    mine    enemies    which    would    not 


JESUS'  EARLY  LIFE  201 

that  I  should  reign  over  them,  bring  hither  and 
slay  them  before  me."     Luke  xix.  27. 

Luke  never  saw  Jesus,  never  heard  him  preach 
or  teach.  He  does  not  claim  to  have  received  his 
information  by  inspiration  but  from  rumor  and 
what  his  informants  believed  or  told  him.  Such 
teaching  is  inconsistent  with  the  whole  life  of  the 
Master  or  any  other  good  man  and  must  be  false. 
The  facts  surrounding  the  writings  of  Luke  are 
these.  The  Christians  were  persecuted  on  every 
side  by  relentless  enemies.  Luke  was  a  Jew 
schooled  in  the  Jewish  traditions,  and  as  the  God 
of  the  Jews  often  inspired  those  people  to  acts 
of  bloodshed  to  avenge  wrongs  and  carry  on 
wars,  Luke  desired  to  inspire  oppressed  Chris- 
tians with  the  feeling  of  opposition  and  even  to 
acts  of  violence  under  the  pretense  that  such 
things  were  taught  by  Jesus.  Early  Christians 
had  to  fight  to  sustain  themselves,  and  to  inspire 
them  with  courage  Luke  put  this  libel  on  the 
name  of  Jesus. 

JESUS'   BAPTISM 

Having  spent  his  youth  up  to  the  age  of  full 
manhood,  having  arrived  at  the  age  of  thirty 
years,  the  age  when  it  was  lawful,  under  the  Jew- 
ish law,  for  those  who  were  competent  from  their 
knowledge  of  the  law  of  Moses  to  enter  into  the 
service  of  the  people  as  priests,  Jesus  left  his 
home  in  Nazareth  and  its   simple   surroundings 


202     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

for  a  more  extended  field  of  labor  in  the  vineyard 
of  man. 

John  the  Baptist,  his  second  cousin,  had  al- 
ready entered  into  the  service  of  the  ministry,  be- 
ing six  months  older  than  Jesus.  John  had 
spent  his  tutelage  in  the  rocky,  mountainous 
country  of  Judea,  called  the  wilderness,  where 
he  lived  in  the  most  frugal  manner.  He  sub- 
sisted on  locusts  and  wild  honey ;  his  clothing 
was  of  camel's  hair  and  around  his  loins  was  a 
leather  girdle.  Notwithstanding  his  uncouth 
appearance,  his  eloquence  of  tongue  drew  unto 
him  great  numbers  of  people,  both  from  Jeru- 
salem and  all  Judea,  to  hear  him  preach  and  to 
be  baptized  by  him. 

The  Jews  were  divided  into  three  sects,  the 
Pharisees,  the  Sadducees  and  the  Essenes.  The 
Pharisees  and  Sadducees  were  not  in  good  favor 
with  John,  neither  were  they  with  Jesus,  but  the 
Essenes  were.  The  teachings  and  spiritual  phil- 
osophy of  Jesus  were  patterned  after  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Essenes,  and  the  doctrines  of  the 
Essenes  were  the  same  as  were  taught  by  the 
Pythagoreans.  Josephus  says,  "  The  Essenes  also, 
live  the  same  kind  of  lives  as  do  those  whom  the 
Greeks  call  Pythagoreans."  It  was  the  Essenes 
who  came  to  John  to  be  baptized.  As  evidence 
of  that  fact,  Matthew,  in  narrating  the  baptism 
of  John,  says,  "When  he  saw  many  of  the 
Pharisees  and  Sadducees  come  to  his  baptism  he 
said  unto  them,  *  O  generation   of  vipers,   who 


JESUS'  EARLY  LIFE  203 

hath    warned    you    to    flee    from    the   wrath    to 
come?  '  " 

John's  baptism  in  the  river  Jordan  was  cer- 
tainly an  impressive  occasion.  The  multitudes 
that  gathered  around  his  standard,  listening  to 
his  words  of  wisdom  and  waiting  their  turn  for 
the  ceremony  to  be  administered  to  them,  can 
only  be  equaled  by  the  outpouring  of  the  powers 
of  God  at  the  pentacostal  services.  The  early 
sun  had  traced  his  rosy  steps  over  the  gloomy 
desert  of  the  Jordan  and  was  smiling  upon  the 
gathered  multitude  that  lined  the  banks  of  the 
sacred  river,  with  hearts  atuned  to  the  sweet  words 
of  John  who  held  them  as  by  a  charm,  rather, 
it  would  seem,  than  through  the  power  of  mortal 
man.  Jesus  was  among  them,  but  they  did  not 
know  him.  His  life  had  been  so  unostentatious 
that  he  passed  and  repassed  without  creating 
other  than  the  most  common  observation.  John 
had  so  enraptured  the  people  that  they  took  him 
to  be  the  promised  Christ,  or  Elias.  Everything 
was  favorable  for  John  to  receive  the  honors  of 
one  sent  by  God  to  bring  deliverance  to  the  op- 
pressed people.  They  were  in  expectation  of  a 
great  deliverer  and  they  mused  in  their  minds 
whether  John  was  the  Christ  or  not ;  and  as  they 
looked  upon  him,  not  expecting  to  know  who  he 
was,  for  he  had  lived  the  life  of  a  recluse  among 
the  mountain  grottoes  of  rugged  Judea  and  his 
own  tribe  did  not  know  him,  he  said  "  I  am  the 
voice   of   one   crying   in  the   wilderness,   '  Make 


204.  LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

straight  the  way  of  the  Lord,'  as  said  the 
prophet  Esaias.  I  baptize  thee  with  water  but 
there  standeth  one  among  you,  whom  you  know 
not.  He  it  is  who,  coming  after  me,  is  pre- 
ferred before  me,  whose  shoe's  latches  I  am  not 
worthy  to  unloose." 

How  long  John  was  occupied  in  the  ceremony 
of  baptizing  the  repentants  of  Judea  we  do  not 
know,  but  that  he  was  there  for  some  period  of 
time  is  certain ;  for  the  next  day,  when  Jesus 
stood  among  the  multitude  at  the  baptizing, 
John  seeing  Jesus  coming  unto  him,  said,  "  Be- 
hold the  Lamb  of  God  which  taketh  away  the  sin 
of  the  world.  This  is  he  of  whom  I  said,  '  After 
me  cometh  a  man  which  is  preferred  before  me, 
and  I  knew  him  not.'  "  It  seems  as  though  Jesus 
and  John  were  strangers,  though  kinsmen,  but 
Jesus  was  to  become  manifest  to  Israel  through 
John,  who  had  been  directed  by  the  spirit  to 
baptize  with  water,  to  the  purification  of  the 
body,  but  typical  of  the  remission  of  sins,  but 
who  was  told  that  he  should  receive  a  sign  desig- 
nating the  chosen  instrument  of  heaven  who 
should  baptize  with  the  Holy  Spirit.  "  I  have 
beheld  the  spirit,"  says  John,  "  descending  like  a 
dove  out  of  heaven,  and  it  abode  upon  him,  but 
I  knew  him  not,  but  he  that  sent  me  to  baptize 
with  water,  he  said  unto  me,  '  Upon  whomsoever 
thou  shalt  see  the  Spirit  descending,  and  abiding 
upon  him,  the  same  is  he  that  baptizeth  with  the 
Holy  Spirit.'     And  I  have  seen  and  have  bom 


JESUS'  EARLY  LIFE  205 

witness    that   this    is    the   son    of    God."     John 
I.  30-34. 

Jesus  came  from  his  home  in  Galilee  to  John 
to  be  baptized  by  him  but  John  refused  the  bap- 
tism saying,  "  I  have  need  to  be  baptized  of  thee, 
and  comest  thou  to  me? "  In  this  Jesus  was 
recognized  as  the  superior  of  John,  and  had  a 
better  and  different  baptism.  John's  baptism 
was  of  water,  that  of  Jesus  was  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  The  baptism  of  Jesus  was  a  spiritual 
baptism,  that  baptism  that  one  feels  in  the  heart 
and  which  converts  the  soul  to  the  service  of 
righteousness.  True  followers  of  Jesus,  when 
once  baptized  with  that  conversion,  should  ever 
keep  it  sacred  and  never  violate  their  pledge.  It 
is  a  sacred  obligation  and  when  once  taken  it 
would  be  better  that  you  should  never  have  been 
born  than  to  violate  it,  or  renounce  it.  That  is 
the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost  that  hath  not 
forgiveness.  It  is  of  no  light  import  but  of 
great  moment  and  importance.  Jesus  came  to 
the  baptism  of  John  that  he  might  openly  fulfill 
the  law  as  an  example  to  others,  because  he  re- 
plied to  John,  "  Suffer  it  to  be  so  now,  for  thus 
it  becomes  us  to  fulfill  all  righteousness."  Jesus 
placed  stress  on  the  term  righteousness.  Mel- 
chizedek  was  the  king  of  righteousness.  If  a 
man  is  righteous,  he  is  a  walking  example  of  the 
law  of  both  God  and  man. 


206     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

JESUS   IN    RETIREMENT 

Having  fulfilled  the  law  of  righteousness  it 
became  necessary  for  a  silent  and  prayerful 
preparation  before  the  active  duties  of  teacher 
were  entered  upon.  That  is  the  law  of  silent 
prayer  for  spiritual  purity,  wisdom,  and  devo- 
tion to  the  service  of  God  in  the  vineyard  of  man. 
Having  resigned  himself  to  the  powers  of  the 
Spirit  and  being  full  of  the  Holy  Ghoet,  he  re- 
turned from  his  baptism  by  John  and  was  led  by 
the  Spirit  into  the  wilderness  where  he  fasted, 
prayed,  and  prepared  himself  for  the  mission  for 
which  he  was  bom. 

The  seclusion  of  Jesus  in  that  rocky  desert, 
where  John  had  spent  the  early  years  of  his  life, 
was  to  fit  him,  in  a  spiritual  sense  for  the  work 
of  a  seer,  the  work  of  a  servant  of  God,  that 
through  him  might  be  presented  to  the  minds  of 
the  world  the  fact  of  an  intercommunication  be- 
tween the  two  worlds,  and  the  more  important 
truth  that  life  was  eternal,  that  death  did  not 
end  all,  and  that  the  soul  did  not  sleep  in  the 
grave  for  an  indefinite  time  after  dissolution 
from  the  body,  but  that  life  is  a  continuous  con- 
dition of  man  subject  to  his  conduct  during  this 
life.  To  fit  himself  for  that  service  it  was  neces- 
sary for  him  to  go  through  a  schooling  of  con- 
templative and  spiritual  communion  with  the 
unseen ;  for  it  is  demonstrated  that  by  contempla- 
tion and  persistency  of  thought  we  accomplish 


JESUS'  EARLY  LIFE  207 

what  we  desire  if  our  efforts  accord  with  our 
motives.  This  rule  is  always  good  in  spiritual 
matters  and  usually  in  the  common  affairs  of  life. 

All  great  servants  of  the  spirit-world  go  into 
retirement  for  a  time  to  undergo  a  spiritual 
training  before  they  are  qualified  to  enter  into  the 
practical  demonstration  of  the  science  of  spir- 
ituality. Mahomet,  before  he  received  his  com- 
munications from  the  angel  Gabriel,  retired  into 
a  cave  in  Mount  Hara.  All  the  Mahatmas  and 
Adepts  of  India  follow  the  same  training.  Moses 
was  with  the  flocks  of  Jethro  in  the  wild  pasture- 
lands  when  he  saw  the  fire  in  the  bush.  Pytha- 
goras required  a  long  novitiate  of  silence.  The 
Jewish  priests  had  their  Holy  of  Holies,  which 
was  held  sacred;  no  one  save  the  priests  could 
enter  that  holy  and  sacred  place.  It  was  there 
that  they  communed  with  God  and  received  their 
spiritual  instructions.  Zoroaster,  it  is  said,  lived 
for  twenty  years  in  the  wilderness,  subsisting  dur- 
ing that  time  on  cheese  which  never  grew  stale. 
He  retired  to  a  solitary  mountain  and  devoted  him- 
self to  the  attainment  of  perfect  holiness  by 
silent  contemplation.  It  was  during  this  retire- 
ment that  he  wrote  the  Zend  Avesta,  the  Persian 
Bible. 

Sakya,  sumamed  Buddha,  founder  of  the  Bud- 
dist  religion,  which  bore  the  same  relation  to 
the  Brahmin  religion  that  the  Christian  does  to 
Judaism,  is  supposed  to  have  lived  1039  years 
before  Christ.     At  the  age  of  sixteen  Sakya,  sur- 


208     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

named  Buddha,  married  a  maiden  named  Ila. 
After  a  son  had  been  born  Sakya  renounced  his 
princely  rank ;  he  took  up  the  life  of  an  anchorite, 
and  retired  into  a  deep  forest  infested  by  wild 
beasts,  lions,  and  tigers.  There  amid  the  prime- 
val forest,  with  wild  flowers  and  sweet  songsters 
of  the  wildwood,  he  past  his  time  in  meditation 
and  spiritual  preparation. 

Communion  in  the  solitude  of  nature  is  very 
beneficial  to  those  seeking  spiritual  purity  and 
celestial  help.  To  this  end  Jesus  instructs  those 
who  pray  to  retire  into  their  closet,  "  And  when 
you  have  shut  the  door,  pray  to  thy  Father  which 
is  in  secret,  and  thy  Father  which  seeth  in  secret 
shall  reward  thee  openly." 

Jesus  never  did  a  foolish  or  unnecessary  thing. 
Had  it  not  been  for  the  advancement  of  the 
cause  of  his  mission  in  life  and  his  necessar^^ 
preparation  for  his  great  work,  he  would  not 
have  retired  to  the  barren,  rocky  wilderness  of 
Judea  for  the  term  of  forty  days.  The  forty 
days  of  tribulation  had  more  than  a  passing  im- 
portance. The  time  had  an  esoteric  lesson  to 
impress  which  was  hidden  under  number  40. 

He  was  tempted  of  the  devil,  or  in  other 
words,  that  class  of  the  unseen,  known  as  evil 
spirits,  of  which  there  are  many,  which  always 
delight  in  dethroning  all  virtuous  and  upbuild- 
ing causes.  They  leveled  their  shafts  at  Jesus  in 
his  lonely  preparation  for  his  work,  but  he  said, 
"  Get  behind  me,  Satan."     This  class  of  spirits 


JESUS'  EARLY  LIFE  209 

beset  every  person  at  times  and  if  they  are  not 
sufficiently  fortified  to  resist,  they  fall  by  the 
wayside  and  become  children  of  the  devil.  A 
great  lesson  is  in  that  one  command.  If  we  all 
could  say,  "  Get  behind  me,  Satan,"  when  we  are 
tempted,  we  would,  like  Jesus  triumph  over  our 
fell  enemy  the  devil.  He  is  a  lurking  foe,  always 
ready  to  do  his  work  of  destruction  and  ruin,  and 
the  fairest  are  his  favorite  mark.  But  if  they 
hold  out,  they  will  triumph  and  good  angels  will 
come  to  their  relief  as  they  did  to  the  relief  of 
Jesus,  for  after  that  "  the  angels  administered 
unto  him." 

One  of  the  greatest  afflictions  to  the  tender 
heart  of  our  Lord,  while  undergoing  the  pinch- 
ing wants  of  hunger  during  his  long  fast  and 
the  temptations  of  the  devil: — the  alluring  oifer 
of  the  whole  world  with  all  of  its  glories  and 
fascinations  for  just  one  act  of  worship,  one 
confession  of  surrender  to  the  domination  of  the 
flesh  over  the  spirit,  one  moment's  turn  from  the 
light  of  truth  and  spiritual  purity  to  the  im- 
pressive demands  of  the  world  in  its  campaign 
of  greed,  and  oppression  with  their  triumphs  over 
youth,  virtue,  beauty,  and  innocence  —  was  the 
news  of  the  fate  of  his  most  valued  friend,  who 
had  proclaimed  his  coming  and  acknowledged  his 
crowning  glories,  when  he  could  have  received 
them  himself, —  the  news  that  John  the  Baptist 
had  been  placed  in  prison  by  Herod.  This  was 
a  warning  to  him  of  what  he  might  expect  if 


^10  LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

he  persisted  further  in  his  mission  of  bringing 
to  the  minds  of  the  people  the  truth  of  a  con- 
tinued hfe  after  death,  and  in  his  efforts  for 
personal  reformation  in  the  way  of  living;  but 
Jesus  knew  his  final  fate,  knew  that  an  igno- 
minious death  on  the  cross  between  two  malefac- 
tors was  his  to  endure,  was  the  reward  awaiting 
him.  What  were  they  to  his  mind?  They  were 
rather  glories  to  be  sought  than  inflictions  to 
be  shunned.  He  could  not  shirk  a  duty  whatever 
the  world  might  say  or  inflict  upon  him.  A  noble 
example,, —  one  that  no  man  had  ever  given  be- 
fore or  since,  though  the  world  has  produced 
many  martyrs  to  the  convictions  of  their  hearts ! 
But  Jesus  is  the  only  example  of  a  man  who  has 
voluntarily  given  up  his  life  to  demonstrate  a 
principle.  How  few  of  us  will  refuse  the  pleas- 
ures of  sin  for  a  fleeting  season  with  full  knowl- 
edge of  its  coming  burdens  for  the  sweeter  walks 
in  the  peaceful  charms  of  a  spiritual  life,  know- 
ing that  at  the  end,  close  at  our  door,  though 
seeming  life  may  be  prolonged,  awaits  the  har- 
vest of  a  life  sown  in  the  walks  of  righteous- 
ness !  After  the  forty  days  of  preparation  in 
the  wilderness  Jesus  departed  and  went  to  Galilee, 
to  his  old  home,  the  home  of  his  childhood,  to 
the  quietness  of  nestling  Nazareth,  amid  the  ver- 
dant hills  of  GaHlee  which  he  had  often  wandered 
up  and  down,  absorbing  from  their  hushed  elo- 
quence refreshing  wisdom,  while  his  soul  went 
out  in  reverence  to  the  God  of  his  glory  and 


JESUS'  EARLY  LIFE  211 

aspirations.  He  had  passed  the  tutelage  days 
of  his  youth  in  that  sequestered  place  where  he 
had  gathered  in  the  richness  of  spiritual  culture 
and  mental  development  that  fitted  him  to  cope 
with  the  most  astute  in  learning,  whose  wiles  were 
often  used  to  entrap  him,  and  which  was  as  the 
armor  of  mail  to  the  darts  of  doubt  and  dis- 
paragement. He  could  read  the  thoughts  of 
those  who  purposed  his  discomfiture.  He  knew 
the  designs  of  his  enemies  before  they  were  ex- 
pressed, and  their  cunning  tongues  he  could  an- 
swer with  confounding  eloquence.  He  had  been 
baptized  to  fulfill  the  requirements  of  righteous- 
ness and  had  retired  to  the  mournful  embrace  of 
the  sterile  wilderness  for  his  last  degree  of  prepa- 
ration and  soul  culture,  obtained  only  through 
meditation  and  prayer,  and  now  he  was  ready  to 
enter  into  the  field  of  man  and  preach  the  gospel 
of  promise  to  a  benighted  world. 

On  the  Sabbath  day  after  he  had  returned  to 
Nazareth,  Jesus  went,  as  was  his  custom,  to  the 
synagogue  to  read.  The  book  of  the  prophet 
Esaias  was  handed  to  him  and  he  opened  the 
book  and  read  these  astonishing  words,  ''  The 
spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me,  because  he  has 
anointed  me  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  poor,  he 
hath  sent  me  to  heal  the  broken-hearted,  to  preach 
deliverance  to  the  captives,  and  recovering  of 
sight  to  the  blind,  to  set  at  liberty  them  that  are 
bruised."  He  closed  the  book  and  handed  it  to 
the  minister  and  said,  "  This  day  is  this  scripture 
fulfilled  in  your  ears." 


212     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

The  astonishment  this  little  episode  created 
among  the  worshippers  at  the  synagogue  can 
only  be  pictured  by  transf ending  our  imaginations 
back  to  the  days  of  that  simple  Godworshipping 
people  of  Nazareth  as  they  looked  upon  that 
young  man  while  golden  truths  of  spiritual 
knowledge  and  prophecy  fell  on  their  ears. 
With  all  eyes  upon  him,  in  the  spirit  of  astonish- 
ment, they  inquired  one  of  another,  "  Is  not  this 
Joseph's  son  ?  "  Thus  at  his  first  appearance  in 
public  after  his  triumphs  in  the  wilderness  Jesus 
laid  down  his  platform  of  principles  which  were 
altogether  humanitarian  in  their  intentment.  He 
was  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  poor,  a  class  of 
people  too  often  neglected  in  favor  of  the  gilded 
show  of  wealth  and  power.  He  was  sent  to  heal 
the  broken-hearted,  a  blessed  and  heaven-bom 
service,  for  those  who  heal  the  wounds  of  the 
heart  and  close  the  fountain  of  tears  do  a  service 
to  man  that  will  find  a  requital  in  the  acclaims 
of  that  angelic  host  when  it  is  said,  "  Well  done, 
thou  good  and  faithful  servant,  enter  into  the 
kingdom  prepared  for  thee."  He  was  to  preach 
deliverance  to  the  captive, —  those  who  had  been 
led  captive  by  the  thralls  of  sin  and  unrighteous- 
ness,—  to  deliver  them  from  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness to  the  effulgent  rays  of  heavenly  light.  He 
was  to  restore  sight  to  the  blind, —  those  blind 
in  the  way  of  spiritual  truths, —  and  set  at 
liberty  them  that  were  bruised  and  still  walking 
in   their   wounds    of   soul   to    their   destruction. 


JESUS'  EARLY  LIFE  213 

And  well  did  he  carry  out  the  intentment  of  that 
platform  during  the  whole  of  his  ministerial  serv- 
ices on  earth,  and  in  heaven  he  smiles  upon  those 
who  remember  the  poor,  the  broken-hearted,  the 
sin-struck  captives,  the  spiritually  blind,  and  the 
maimed  of  soul  in  the  service  of  the  power  of 
evil.  The  true  religion  of  Jesus  is  intensely 
practical  and  to  understand  it  we  need  but  to 
brush  away  the  cobwebs  of  myths  to  see  its  prac- 
tical beauties  and  its  usefulness.  The  service  of 
Jesus  was  that  of  a  holy  evangelist,  lifting  men 
up  out  of  the  mires  of  life  and  placing  them  on 
the  smooth  road  of  progress,  with  flowers  of 
sweetest  fragrance  on  either  side  to  be  plucked 
by  those  who  will. 

We  are  all  passengers  on  the  great  ship  of 
life,  going  to  another  country  to  encounter  new 
realities  and  new  experiences.  Every  person  has 
a  ship  of  his  own  and  is  his  own  pilot;  to  reach 
the  port  safely  we  should  study  the  chart  which 
Jesus  has  given  us  and  be  sure  not  to  overload 
our  craft  and  founder  in  the  angry  waves,  for 
there  is  danger.  It  is  well  for  us  to  be  as  mind- 
ful of  the  chart  as  we  would  if  were  we  going 
to  a  new  country  on  this  side  of  life.  Were  we 
going  to  England,  Italy,  or  any  other  country 
we  had  never  visited,  the  first  thing  we  would  do 
would  be  to  procure  a  chart  and  ascertain  the 
best  and  surest  route  and  where  to  get  the  best 
and  safest  accommodations  there.  The  country 
after  death  is  far  more  important  than  any  of 


214     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

the  political  divisions  of  this  earth  and  why  men 
will  pay  so  much  attention  to  those  of  earth  and 
so  little  to  those  of  the  other  side  is  hard  to  un- 
derstand. Jesus  was  not  a  false  geographer,  was 
not  a  false  teacher.  All  of  his  lessons  are  prac- 
ticable and  easily  followed,  and  no  man  will  go 
astray  who  will  observe  and  follow  them. 

THE  ANOINTMENT  OF  JESUS 

On  returning  to  his  own  home  and  going  to 
the  synagogue  he  read,  "  The  spirit  of  the  Lord 
is  upon  me  because  he  has  anointed  me  to  preach 
the  gospel  to  the  poor."  Luke  iv.  18.  This  is 
the  most  important  paragraph  in  the  account  of 
the  ministerial  duties  of  our  Lord,  from  the  fact 
that  it  is  the  one  which  marks  the  dividing  line 
between  the  Aaronic  priesthood  and  the  priest- 
hood of  the  order  of  Melchizedek,  of  which 
Jesus  was  made  a  high  priest. 

There  were  two  kinds  of  anointing  practiced 
in  the  Bible  and  New  Testament.  One  was  a 
material  anointing,  the  other  was  spiritual.  The 
material  anointing  was  done  by  applying  oil  to 
the  head  or  body.  That  was  a  common  prac- 
tice among  the  Jews  and  Oriental  nations.  See 
Deut.  xxviii.  40;  Ruth  iii.  3;  Mic.  vi.  15.  It 
was  applied  upon  the  introduction  of  prophets,  or 
seers,  into  the  service  of  God.  I.  Kings  xix.  16. 
To  such  the  Lord  vouchsafed  protection. 
"  Touch  not  my  anointed  and  do  my  prophets 
no    harm."     I.    Chron.    xvi.    22 ;    Ps.    cv.    15. 


JESUS'  EARLY  LIFE  SI  5 

Priests  were  anointed.  Ex.  xl.  15;  Num.  iii.  3; 
Ex.  xxix.  29;  Lev.  xvi.  32,  It  was  also  the 
custom  to  anoint  kings.     I.  Sam.  ix.  16 ;  10,  1 ; 

I.  Kings  i.  34.     David  was  anointed  three  times. 

II.  Kings  ix.  3,  11,  12.  Material  anointment 
under  the  Jewish  dispensation  was  done  with  oil. 

The  ANOINTMENT  OF  JESUS  WAS  A  SPIRIT- 
UAL    ACT     AND     DONE      BY     THE     AUTHORITY      OF 

GOD.  "  The  spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me, 
because  he  hath  anointed  me,"  said  Jesus. 
And  John  bare  record,  saying,  "  I  saw  the  spirit 
descending  from  heaven  like  a  dove,  and  it 
abode  upon  him.  And  I  knew  him  not;  but 
he  that  sent  me  to  baptize  with  water,  the 
same  said  unto  me,  '  Upon  whom  thou  shalt 
see  the  Spirit  descending,  and  remaining  on  him, 
the  same  is  he  which  baptizeth  with  the  Holy 
Ghost.'  "  John  i.  32,  33.  "  That  word,  I  say, 
ye  know,  which  was  published  throughout  all 
Judea,  and  began  from  Galilee,  after  the  baptism 
which  John  preached;  how  God  anointed  Jesus 
of  Nazareth  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with 
power;  who  went  about  doing  good,  and  healing 
all  that  were  oppressed  of  the  devil ;  for  God  was 
with  him."     Acts  x.  37,  38. 

When  Jesus  had  closed  the  book  and  handed 
it  to  the  minister,  he  sat  down  and  said,  "  This 
day  Is  the  Scripture  fulfilled  in  your  ears.  I 
tell  you  of  a  truth,  many  widows  were  in  Israel 
in  the  days  of  Elias,  when  the  heaven  was  shut 
up  three  years  and  six  months,  when  great  famine 


216     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

was  throughout  all  the  land,  but  unto  none  of 
them  was  Elias  sent,  save  unto  Sarepta,  a  city 
of  Sidon,  unto  a  woman  who  was  a  widow ;  and 
many  lepers  were  in  Israel  in  the  time  of  Eliseus 
the  prophet;  and  none  of  them  was  cleansed  save 
Naaman  the  Syrian."     Luke  iv.  20-29. 

Jesus  in  this  conversation  intended  to  impress 
on  the  minds  of  those  present  that  the  religion 
of  humanity  was  preferable  to  that  of  the 
Aaronic  priesthood;  in  other  words,  that  the 
Jews  practiced  a  false  religion, —  that  the  true 
and  proper  religion  was  that  of  humanity.  At 
this  imputation,  those  present  became  very  angry, 
forcibly  ejected  him  from  the  synagogue  and 
took  him  to  the  brow  of  the  hill  whereon  the  city 
of  Nazareth  was  built  that  they  might  cast  him 
down  headlong;  but  the  strength  of  the  spirit 
w^orld  was  upon  him  and  he  passed  through  the 
midst  of  them  and  went  his  way. 

It  is  strange  how  people  who  believe  in  a  super- 
natural religion  will  get  angered  at  those  who 
differ  from  them.  That  is  an  infection  that 
poisoned  the  minds  of  the  Jews,  but  not  theirs 
alone.  It  follows  all  along  the  path  of  religion 
even  unto  this  day,  but  now  the  power  is  broken ; 
the  religion  of  humanity,  the  true  religion  of  the 
Master,  is  supplanting  that  of  dogmatism  and 
many  are  becoming  the  saviors  of  men  by  ex- 
tending unto  them  that  fraternal  aid  and  com- 
fort that  heals  the  sorrowing  heart,  binds  up  the 
wounds  of  the  afflicted  and  sore  of  spirit,  and 


JESUS'  EARLY  LIFE  217 

opens  the  eyes  of  those  who  are  blinded  in  the 
duties  they  owe  themselves,  and  by  making  the 
meaning  of  heaven  to  be  that  of  a  condition  and 
not  location,  a  heaven  of  this  world  as  well  as 
one  of  the  next. 

JESUS  GOES  TO  CAPERNAUM 

Imagine,  if  you  can,  the  heart  burnings  of  the 
Master  while  he  was  wending  his  way  through 
the  passes  of  the  hills  of  lower  Galilee  to  escape 
from  the  threatening  aspect  of  his  neighbors, 
who  would  do  him  bodily  harm  for  extending  to 
them  the  heart  sympathies  of  humanity  and 
opening  to  their  minds  the  joys  of  a  new  hope  of 
life  made  glorious  through  the  shadows  of  the 
tomb.  What  anguish,  as  he  looked  back  on  the 
scenes  of  his  childhood  in  the  quiet  environments 
of  Nazareth  and  said,  "  Good-bye,  sweet  dreams, 
good-bye.  Good-bye,  mother,  on  whose  warm 
breast  I  have  listened  to  the  word  pictures  of 
heaven  in  the  accents  of  love.  Good-bye,  home, 
the  shelter  of  my  weary  limbs  in  the  storms  of 
life.  I  leave  you  in  body  for  Capernaum,  where 
I  go  in  the  work  of  my  Master,  with  the  hope  of 
a  better  understanding  than  that  of  my  neigh- 
bors who  would  thrust  me  over  the  deep  preci- 
pice to  death  for  the  simple  act  of  reading  to 
them  a  prophecy  of  myself  from  the  book  of 
Esaias,  inspired  through  the  agency  of  my  God, 
whose  service  it  is  mj^  delight  to  perform. 
Nazareth,  nestling  Nazareth,  I  love  thee,  for  it 


218     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

was  there  that  was  born  in  my  soul  an  undying 
love  for  the  world  for  which  my  life-blood  is 
soon  to  ebb  and  flow  in  the  agonies  of  a  tortured 
death,  to  prove  to  a  stubborn  people  that  they 
have  precious  souls  which  may  be  stranded  on 
the  wastes  of  eternity  or  glorified  in  the  enchant- 
ments of  love  eternal,  made  pure  by  my  purchase 
of  life  on  the  cross.  Good-bye,  O  thou  enchant- 
ing scenes,  good-b^^e." 

Jesus,  heavy  hearted  and  tired  of  foot,  went 
from  Nazareth  to  Capernaum,  which  he  chose  as 
the  place  of  his  abode  for  a  time ;  but  it  soon 
transpired  that  he  had  no  home, —  that  he  was 
a  wanderer  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  up  and 
down  the  rocky  shores  of  Galilee,  despised  by 
the  many,  a  prodigy  in  the  minds  of  some,  and 
loved  by  the  few,  in  a  country  of  enemies  made 
alert  and  ravenous  because  of  his  unselfish  good- 
ness, because  of  his  undying  efforts  to  lead  his 
countrymen  out  of  the  spiritual  darkness  in  which 
they  were  groping  and  in  which  they  found  food 
for  all  manner  of  sin.  The  Israelites,  gi'oaning 
under  the  yoke  of  Roman  bondage,  being  a  rest- 
less and  revengeful  people,  feasted  on  the  dreams 
of  war,  rebellion,  asassinations,  the  assertion  of 
liberty,  the  accumulation  of  power,  the  aggre- 
gation of  wealth  at  whatever  cost.  They  were 
living  in  spiritual  darkness  and  when  Jesus  came 
with  the  light  of  love  and  heaven  in  his  teachings 
and  life,  they  hated  him,  for  revenge  was  sweet 
to  their  minds  and  rebellion  dear  to  their  hearts. 


JESUS'  EARLY  LIFE  219 

They  rebelled  against  every  thing, —  against  the 
Roman  power,  against  the  law,  against  good 
government,  against  God  and  their  own  souls, — 
and  he  who  would  make  a  change  in  their  sordid 
natures  which  were  intensified  by  national  dis- 
agreements, received  but  their  suspicious  hatred. 
It  was  that  feeling  which  made  those  in  the  syna- 
gogue at  Nazareth,  on  the  first  advent  of  Jesus 
as  a  teacher,  thrust  him  out  of  the  place  and  at- 
tempt his  death  by  throwing  him  over  the  preci- 
pice. Then  he  said  to  them,  "  No  prophet  is 
accepted  in  his  own  country." 

This  is  not  strange  when  we  consider  the  forces 
of  nature.  In  nature  there  are  two  elements, 
good  and  evil,  right  and  wrong,  hatred  and  love, 
cruelty  and  kindness.  The  evil  side  of  man  is 
always  aggressive,  the  good  side  is  passive. 
Love  cannot  knock  down  and  drag  out.  Peace 
is  persuasive,  war  aggressive.  A  good  man  will 
take  a  struggling  brother  by  the  hand  and  help 
him  up,  a  bad  man  will  crush  him  lower  and 
lower,  and  he  will  hate  you  if  you  tell  him  of  his 
wrong.  Jesus  hesitated  not  to  point  out  evil  and 
chide  the  evil-doer;  for  that,  those  living  in  dark- 
ness hated  him  and  would  have  destroyed  him  at 
once  had  he  not  been  sustained  by  a  greater 
power  than  they.  His  time  had  not  come ;  he 
had  a  work  to  do  which  was  his  to  accomplish 
despite  all  the  powers  that  might  try  to  hinder 
him. 


VI 

PREACHING  AND  HEALING 

When  Jesus  went  to  Capernaum  he  commenced 
his  ministry,  his  teaching  and  his  humanitarian 
services  to  the  people.  He  followed  the  argu- 
ments of  John  when  he  was  informing  the  people 
of  the  coming  of  the  Master,  saying  "  Prepare  ye 
the  way  of  the  Lord  and  make  his  paths  straight,'* 
and  "  Repent  ye  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at 
hand."  Jesus  used  the  same  words,  "  Repent  ye 
for  the  k^ingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand."  What 
did  Jesus  and  John  mean  by  such  language? 
Were  they  speaking  of  a  place,  person,  or 
condition? 

Gratius  said  that  the  Jews  divided  the  heaven 
into  three  parts,  viz:  1,  The  air  or  atmosphere 
where  clouds  gather;  2,  the  firmament  in  which 
the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  are  fixed;  3,  the  upper 
heaven,  the  abode  of  God  and  his  angels.  To 
those,  the  Evangelists  added  a  fourth,  the  king- 
dom of  righteousness  or  the  kingdom  of  God, 
which  is  found  within  each  man's  heart  who  lives 
according  to  the  laws  and  precepts  of  the  Gos- 
pels as  taught  by  Jesus. 

The  kingdom  of  heaven,  that  Jesus  and  John 

spoke   of,    was   the   spiritual   light   which    Jesus 

brought  with  him  and  proclaimed  unto  the  world. 

Before  that  time  the  people,  especially   in  and 

220 


PREACHING  AND  HEALING       221 

about  Capernaum^  were  living  in  spiritual  dark- 
ness and  in  the  shadow  of  spiritual  death.  Jesus 
desired  to  lead  them  out  of  that  condition  by 
preaching  unto  them  a  better  way  of  life  through 
which  they  could  reach  the  kingdom  of  heaven  or 
a  condition  of  happiness.  Paul  said,  "  The  king- 
dom of  heaven  is  not  meat  and  drink,  but  right- 
eousness and  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost." 
Rom.  xiv.  17.  The  kingdom  of  God  and  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  mean  the  same  thing  as  used 
in  these  references.  "  But  seek  first  the  kingdom 
of  God  and  his  righteousness  and  all  these  things 
shall  be  added  unto  you."  Matt.  vi.  33.  The 
kingdom  of  heaven  pertained  to  this  life  and  to 
the  earth  condition.  The  apostles  were  instructed 
to  heal  the  sick,  and  say  unto  them,  "  The  king- 
dom of  God  is  come  nigh  unto  you."  Luke 
X.  9,  11. 

The  Pharisees  desired  to  know  of  Jesus  when 
the  kingdom  of  God  should  come.  Jesus  re- 
plied, "  It  does  not  come  with  observation,  or  with 
outward  show.  Behold,  the  kingdom  of  God  is 
within  you."  Luke  xvii.  20,  21.  We  all  have 
the  power  of  having  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  or 
God,  within  our  own  bosoms,  by  proper  living, 
proper  meditation,  and  proper  acting,  or  we  can 
have  the  other  condition  if  we  wish.  It  is  all 
within  ourselves.  Jesus,  knowing  the  philosophy 
of  life  and  the  way  to  promote  the  condition  of 
happiness  on  earth,  came  preaching  that  the 
"  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand." 


222     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

There  is  another  meaning  to  the  word  heaven. 
This  meaning  apphes  to  the  spiritual  condition 
and  appertains  to  the  next  hfe,  the  condition 
after  the  dissolution  of  the  spirit  from  the  body. 
This  condition  is  often  obtained  by  sensitives 
who  go  into  a  trance  when  the  spirit  leaves  the 
body  and  goes  to  the  spheres  called  in  the  spir- 
itual appellations  of  the  New  Testament,  heaven. 
Paul  says,  "  I  knew  a  man  in  Christ  above  four- 
teen years  ago  (whether  in  the  body,  I  cannot 
tell;  or  whether  out  of  the  body,  I  cannot  tell; 
God  knoweth),  such  an  one  caught  up  to  the 
third  heaven.  And  I  knew  such  a  man  (whether 
in  the  body,  or  out  of  the  body,  I  cannot  tell; 
God  knoweth),  how  that  he  was  caught  up  into 
paradise,  and  heard  unspeakable  words,  which  it 
is  not  lawful  for  man  to  utter."  II.  Cor.  xii. 
2—4.  Paul  was  no  doubt  speaking  of  himself 
who,  while  in  a  trance,  was  caught  up  and  taken 
to  one  of  the  spheres  of  the  other  world,  where 
he  heard  and  beheld  those  things  which  were  un- 
lawful for  him  to  utter  under  the  condition  of 
society  as  it  then  was.  In  fact,  to  this  day  a 
person  dare  not  tell  the  truth  about  the  spirit 
world  without  having  all  the  materialists  and 
creed-bound  Christians  on  his  back.  That  is  the 
only  thing  that  the  materialists  and  Christians 
agree  in,  to  abuse  those  who  know  of  the  powers 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  the  beauties  of  the  spirit 
world  and  who  venture  to  tell  it  to  others. 

Paul  dared  not  tell  those  things;  he  spoke  of 


PREACHING  AND  HEALING       223 

them  but  dared  not  particularize.  "  And  it  came 
to  pass,  that  while  I  was  come  again  to  Jerusalem, 
even  while  I  prayed  in  the  temple,  I  was  in  a 
trance."     Acts  xxii.  17. 

There  are  degrees  in  heaven.  We  have  men- 
tion of  seven  degrees  in  the  other  world  and 
above  those,  spirits  enter  into  the  condition  of 
celestia  and  go  on  to  perfection  in  the  bosom  of 
God,  or  a  condition  of  absolute  rest  in  wisdom 
and  glory. 

JESUS  THE  LIGHT  OF  THE  WORLD 

"  And  leaving  Nazareth,  he  came  and  dwelt  in 
Capernaum,  which  is  upon  the  sea  coast  in  the 
borders  of  Zabulon  and  Nephthalim.  The  peo- 
ple v/hich  sat  in  darkness  saw  great  light ;  and 
to  them  which  sat  in  the  region  and  shadow  of 
death,  light  is  sprung  up."     Mat.  iv.  13,  16. 

Mingled  in  this  narration  of  the  facts  that 
Jesus  left  Nazareth  and  came  and  dwelt  in  Caper- 
naum is  a  most  important  allegory  that  fathoms 
the  very  nature  of  the  mission  of  our  Lord  as 
well  as  his  title  and  the  meaning  thereof. 

It  is  asserted  by  theologians  that  the  affix 
*'  Christ "  to  the  name  of  Jesus  meant  "  the 
Anointed."  There  can  be  nothing  further  from 
the  true  meaning  of  the  word,  as  we  have  shown 
in  a  former  chapter  that  Jesus  was  never  anointed 
under  the  Aaronic  priesthood;  and  to  claim  that 
he  was  anointed  confounds  his  priesthood  with 
that   of  the   Jewish   and   makes   them   both   the 


224     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

same.  None  of  the  Jewish  priests  were  ever 
anointed  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  Jesus  was 
never  anointed  by  oil  as  expressive  of  his  priest- 
hood ;  therefore,  to  assert  that  the  word  "  Christ " 
means  "  anointed  "  is  a  forced  construction  and 
especially  untenable  in  the  light  of  the  Bible. 

The  word  "  Christ  "  means  "  light  "  and  no 
other  reasonable  construction  can  be  placed  on 
the  term.  As  evidence  of  that  fact  let  us  call 
in  some  witnesses,  the  veracity  of  whose  words  no 
one  dare  dispute.  "  In  him  was  life ;  and  the  life 
was  the  light  of  men.  And  the  light  shineth 
in  darkness ;  and  the  darkness  comprehended  it 
not.  There  was  a  man  sent  from  God,  whose 
name  was  John.  The  same  came  for  a  witness, 
to  bear  witness  of  the  Light,  that  all  men  through 
him  might  believe.  He  was  not  that  Light,  but 
was  sent  to  bear  witness  of  that  Light.  That 
was  the  true  Light,  which  lighteth  every  man 
that  Cometh  into  the  world."  John  i.  4-9.  "  I 
am  the  light  of  the  world:  he  that  followeth  me 
shall  not  walk  in  darkness,  but  shall  have  the 
light  of  life."  John  viii.  12.  "  Yet  a  Httle  while 
is  the  light  with  you.  Walk  while  ye  have  the 
light,  lest  darkness  come  upon  you:  for  he  that 
walketh  in  darkness  knoweth  not  whither  he 
goeth.  While  ye  have  light,  believe  in  the  light, 
that  ye  may  be  the  children  of  light.  These 
things  spake  Jesus,  and  departed,  and  did  hide 
himself  from  them."  John  xii.  35-36.  "  Awake, 
and  Christ  shall  give  thee  light."     Eph.  v.  14. 


PREACHING  AND  HEALING       225 

Among  the  prophesies  are  the  following :  For, 
behold,  the  darkness  shall  cover  the  earth,  and 
gross  darkness  the  people;  but  the  Lord  shall 
arise  upon  thee  and  his  glory  shall  be  seen  upon 
thee,  and  the  Gentiles  shall  come  to  thy  light. 
Isaiah  Ix.  2,  3.  I  the  Lord  have  called  thee  in 
righteousness,  and  will  hold  thine  hand,  and  will 
keep  thee  and  give  thee  for  a  covenant  of  the 
people,  for  a  light  of  the  Gentiles.  Isaiah 
xlii.  6,  7.  The  foregoing  are  sufficient  to  show 
that  Jesus  Christ  was  considered  the  spiritual 
light  of  the  world.  His  name  was  to  be  Jesus 
according  to  the  command  of  the  angel,  but  his 
title  should  be  "  Light" ;  his  office,  high  priest 
after  the  order  of  Melchizedek.  There  can  be 
no  room  for  controversy  on  these  points,  as  I 
glean  from  the  Bible  itself. 

The  word  "  light "  means  spiritual  and  intel- 
lectual light.  There  were  many  in  Capernaum 
that  sat  in  darkness.  They  were  an  ignorant 
community,  composed  of  people  from  different 
sections  of  the  country  roundabout,  without  cul- 
ture, or  spiritual  enlightenment.  But  when 
Jesus  appeared  among  them  they  saw  in  his  per- 
son, in  his  demeanor,  in  his  teachings  and  phil- 
osophy, that  he  possessed  great  intelligence  and 
great  spirituality,  and  those  that  were  in  spir- 
itual darkness  beheld  in  the  man  comfort,  con- 
solation, goodness,  kindness ;  and  seeing  that 
radiant  countenance  and  illumination  of  person 
there  awoke  in  them  the  impulses  of  a  new  life 


226     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

and  so  to  them  which  sat  in  the  region  and  shadow 
of  death,  hght  sprang  up. 

On  this  one  phrase,  "  those  who  sat  in  the  re- 
gion and  shadow  of  death,"  hangs  the  most  im- 
portant concern  of  the  world,  and  if  it  were 
studied  and  understood  as  it  should  be,  we  would 
see  a  reformation  in  the  conduct  of  men  that 
would  revolutionize  the  world.  "  The  region 
and  shadow  of  death."  What  does  the  term 
mean.''  To  understand  the  true  meaning  of  the 
term  we  must  first  understand  ourselves. 

Who  are  we.^*  What  is  our  make  up.^*  The 
great  stumbling  block  on  which  the  world  falls 
is  the  fact  that  men  do  not  understand  them- 
selves. Jesus  was  much  wiser  than  the  world  and 
he  surpasses  t\ie  great  boasted  intelligence  of  even 
the  20th  centur3^  He  gave  out  scientific  tnjths 
that  the  world  does  not  comprehend,  even  now, 
as  a  rule.  Man  is  dual  in  his  make-up.  He  is 
made  up  of  a  physical  body  and  spiritual  body. 
The  physical  body  is  the  house  in  which  the  spir- 
itual man  lives.  The  house  in  which  the  true 
man  lives  never  offends,  never  does  wrong ;  but 
the  man  who  lives  in  the  house  and  who  con- 
trols it  is  prone  to  evil  and  wrong-doing.  The 
house  gets  out  of  repair  some  times  and  then  we 
say  the  man  is  sick,  and  when  the  house  gets  very 
badly  out  of  repair  the  man  inside  moves  out  and 
leaves  the  old  tenement.  That  we  call  death, 
but  it  is  not  death;  it  is  simply  a  change  of  con- 
ditions, usually  for  the  better.     But  there  is  a 


PREACHING  AND  HEALING       227 

death  that  we  should  look  upon  with  fear  and 
trembling  and  that  is  the  death  of  the  soul. 
That  is  the  real  death  of  the  man,  for  the  soul  is 
the  man.  When  our  Lord  went  to  Capernaum 
there  were  those  who  sat  in  the  region  and  shadow 
of  death.  That  is,  they  were  so  depraved  and 
debauched  that  their  spirits  were  perishing ;  death 
had  cast  its  shadow  upon  them  and  they  were 
sinking  down,  down,  down.  They  were  reach- 
ing that  condition  where  there  was  no  redemption 
for  them ;  extinction  in  the  darkness  of  evil  was 
inevitable,  for  they  had  not  the  power  to  reform. 
Study  this  lesson  well,  friends,  keep  it  before  your 
minds  and  the  minds  of  those  of  your  household, 
that  there  are  but  two  destinies  for  man, —  one 
is  the  embrace  in  the  bosom  of  God,  the  other 
utter  extinction  in  the  maw  of  Misery.  One 
condition  is  that  of  perfection  in  goodness,  the 
other  is  destruction  in  the  throes  of  evil.  There 
are  good  and  evil  in  the  world, —  we  are  either 
reaping  the  harvest  of  one  or  the  dregs  of  the 
other.  Everything  moves  in  cycles.  We  came 
from  the  bosom  of  Omnipotence.  W^e  shall  re- 
turn to  that  condition  again,  and  become  of  the 
essence  of  Light  and  Purity  if  we  follow  the 
light  of  the  Master  in  the  deeds  of  well  doing; 
or  we  will  sink  into  the  region  of  death  in  the 
extremes  of  darkness.  There  are  two  sides  of 
nature,  good  and  bad,  happiness  and  woe.  We 
know  that  from  every-day  experiences.  Jesus 
came  to  give  us  light  and  give  us  knowledge  and 


^28    LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

tell  us  how  to  embrace  the  one  and  avoid  the 
other. 

In  our  daily  intercourse  with  men,  we  find 
many  who  have  subjected  themselves  so  much  to 
the  life  of  baseness  and  depravity  that  they  can- 
not retrace  their  steps ;  they  do  not  have  sufficient 
strength  to  reform ;  they  resolve  and  resolve  only 
to  relapse  again  into  their  old  ruts  and  habits. 
Those  people  are  in  the  region  and  shadow  of 
death, —  spiritual  death, —  and  should  they  leave 
the  body  in  that  condition,  the  chances  are  they 
cannot  reform  in  the  spirit  world  but  will  sink 
and  sink  to  the  perishing  point  in  the  region  of 
darkness.  Criminals  live  in  that  spiritual  atmos- 
phere. 

When  Jesus  went  to  Capernaum,  a  light  pene- 
trated the  souls  of  those  sitting  in  darkness. 
Jesus,  the  great  humanitarian,  did  all  he  could 
to  reform  that  people.  He  preached  to  them, 
talked  to  them,  and  did  many  wonderful  things 
in  their  presence,  but  the  town  had  become  so 
corrupted  that  his  teachings  were  rejected.  When 
he  could  do  no  more  he  exclaimed  in  a  prophecy 
that  was  literally  fulfilled,  "  But  thou,  Caper- 
naum, which  art  exalted  unto  heaven,  shall  be 
brought  down  to  hell;  for  if  the  mighty  works 
which  have  been  done  in  thee,  had  been  done  in 
Sodom,  it  would  have  remained  until  this  day. 
But  I  say  unto  you.  That  it  shall  be  more  tolerable 
for  the  land  of  Sodom,  in  the  day  of  judgment 
than  for  thee."    Matt.  xi.  23,  24.     How  well  this 


PREACHING  AND  HEALING       229 

prophecy  was  carried  out,  for  no  one  knows  where 
this  once  proud  city  stood.  The  same  curse  was 
pronounced  against  Chorasin,  and  with  the  same 
results. 

HEALING    THE    SICK 

The  mission  of  Jesus  on  earth  was  that  of 
doing  good.  His  vineyard  was  man  in  all  the 
walks  of  life.  To  the  proud  he  enjoined  humil- 
ity ;  to  the  rich  a  disregard  of  the  fascination 
of  worldly  goods  and  the  importance  of  spiritual 
riches,  the  storehouse  of  which  is  in  the  vaults 
of  exalted  happiness  in  the  life  to  come,  and  he 
impressed  on  the  minds  of  the  world,  the  frailties 
and  uncertainties  of  this  life  as  contrasted  with 
the  never-ending  future  which  is  enriched  or  im- 
poverished by  our  own  acts  with  which  we  volun- 
tarily encumber  ourselves  in  our  short  journey 
here.  As  an  example  for  us  to  follow,  he  went 
forth  among  the  poor  and  distressed  of  body,  soul, 
and  mind,  healing  the  sick,  opening  the  eyes  of 
the  blind,  the  ears  of  the  deaf,  causing  the  lame 
to  walk,  the  weak  to  receive  strength,  and  to 
those  obsessed  by  devils,  or  spirits  controlling 
the  minds  of  their  victims,  he  commanded  the  spirit 
to  leave  the  obsessed  persons  that  they  might 
be  restored  to  the  exercise  of  the  mind  and  body 
and  become  sane  again. 

The  same  services  that  Jesus  extended  among 
the  people  he  enjoined  upon  his  disciples  and 
through  his  disciples  as  an  example  for  all  his 


230     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

anointed.  "  Is  any  sick  among  you?  Let  him 
call  for  the  elders  of  the  church ;  and  let  them 
pray  over  him,  anointing  him  with  oil  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord;  and  the  prayer  of  faith  shall 
save  the  sick,  and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him  up ; 
and  if  he  hath  committed  sins  they  shall  be  for- 
given him."  James  v.  14,  15.  The  art  of  heal- 
ing is  a  spiritual  gift.  "  For  to  one  is  given 
by  the  Spirit  the  word  of  wisdom ;  to  another 
the  words  of  knowledge  by  the  same  Spirit ;  to 
another  faith  by  the  same  spirit ;  to  another 
the  gift  of  healing  by  the  same  Spirit."  I.  Cor. 
xii.  8,  9.  The  power  of  healing,  as  well  as  the 
benefit  to  those  who  receive  the  blessing  depends 
on  the  belief  of  both  the  healer  and  the  sick. 
*'And  these  signs  shall  follow  them  that  believe ; 
in  my  name  shall  they  cast  out  devils ;  they  shall 
speak  with  new  tongues ;  they  shall  take  up  ser- 
pents ;  and  if  they  drink  any  deadly  thing,  it 
shall  not  hurt  them ;  they  shall  lay  hands  on  the 
sick,  and  they  shall  recover."  Mark  xvi.  17. 
Even  the  shadow  of  Peter  cured  the  sick.  Acts 
V.  15.  Multitudes  came  from  out  the  cities  round 
about  Jerusalem  to  Peter  and  were  healed.  Acts 
V.  16.  The  power  of  healing  was  practiced  all 
through  the  period  of  the  Old  Testament.  But 
in  all  cases  the  ones  seeking  to  be  healed  were, 
as  a  condition  of  healing,  compelled  to  ask, 
"  Have  mercy  on  me  O  Lord,  I  am  weak.  Lord, 
heal  me  for  my  bones  are  vexed."  Psalm  vi.  2. 
"  Heal  me,  0  Lord,  and  I  shall  be  healed,  save 


PREACHING  AND  HEALING       231 

me  and  I  shall  be  saved."  Jer.  xvii.  18.  The 
sickness  of  the  soul  was  also  cured  in  days  of 
old.  "  I  said,  O  Lord  be  merciful  unto  me, 
heal  my  soul.  I  have  sinned  against  thee." 
Psalm  xli.  2.  "  I  have  seen  his  ways,  and 
will  heal  him.  I  will  lead  him  also  and  restore 
comforts  unto  him  and  to  his  mourners."  Isaiah 
Ivii.  18. 

Faith  was  a  necessary  condition  for  those  who 
desired  the  service  of  Jesus  in  bestowing  upon 
them  the  gracious  act  of  healing.  A  scribe 
brought  to  Jesus  his  son  which  had  a  dumb 
spirit,  which  tore  the  child  and  made  him  foam 
at  the  mouth  and  gnash  his  teeth  and  caused  him 
to  pine  away.  The  disciples  could  not  effect  a 
cure  of  this  child,  so  the  father  came  to  Jesus  with 
him  and  asked  his  assistance.  The  boy  fell  on 
the  ground,  foamed  at  the  mouth  and  was  in  a 
dreadful  condition.  Speaking  to  the  father  of 
the  boy  Jesus  said,  "  If  thou  canst  believe,  all 
things  are  possible  to  him  that  believeth."  The 
father  said,  "  Lord  I  believe,  help  mine  unbelief." 
Jesus  then  rebuked  the  foul  spirit,  saying  unto 
him,  "  Thou  dumb  and  deaf  spirit,  I  charge  thee, 
come  out  of  him  and  enter  no  more  into  him," 
and  the  spirit  cried  and  rent  him  sore  and  came 
out  of  him,  and  the  child  was  as  one  dead,  inso- 
much as  that  many  said,  "  He  is  dead,"  but 
Jesus  took  him  by  the  hand  and  lifted  him  up 
and  he  arose.  Mark  ix.  17-27.  Jesus  healed 
the  servant  of  the  centurion  through  the  power 
of  faith.     Matt.  viii.  5-13. 


2S2     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

The  act  of  healing  was  a  science.  Jesus  did 
not  stop  to  explain  any  of  his  works,  as  that 
of  healing.  He  simply  did  the  act,  effected  the 
cure  and  then  went  on  without  explanation.  He 
acted  on  the  same  principle  as  the  physicians 
who  give  out  their  remedies  and  direct  how  they 
shall  be  administered,  without  explanation  as  to 
the  compound  given.  Just  so  did  Jesus  work. 
He  effected  his  cures,  but  did  not  tell  how  they 
were  accomplished.  That  problem  was  left  to 
later  generations.  But  in  each  case  the  mind  of 
the  sick  or  diseased  person  was  worked  upon, 
A  trusting  faith  in  Jesus  or  those  who  attempted 
the  cure  was  necessary. 

Why  was  faith  necessary  in  the  process  of 
curing  diseases?  There  was  a  reason  for  the 
exercising  of  faith  or  Jesus  would  not  have  re- 
quired it.  He  never  did  a  useless  thing  or  gave 
unnecessary  advice  or  required  a  useless  cere- 
mony. Long  experience  and  observation  have 
proved  to  man  the  power  of  mind  over  mind 
and  mind  over  matter;  and,  as  well,  the  com- 
munity of  thoughts  and  their  simultaneous  pow- 
ers over  the  brains  of  different  people  at  the 
same  time.  How  often  have  you  spoken  of  things, 
disconnected  with  the  subject  under  consideration 
and  some  person  speaks  up  and  says,  "  I  was 
thinking  of  the  same  thing."  How  often  has 
your  mind  been  centered  on  a  person  and  in 
a  short  time  that  person  unexpectedly  comes  in- 
to  your    presence.      How    often   have   you    been 


PREACHING  AND  HEALING       233 

impelled  by  the  force  of  thought  to  pay  a  visit 
to  some  of  your  neighbors  and  when  you  had 
entered  the  exclamation  was,  "  I  was  just  think- 
ing of  you  and  wishing  that  you  would  come." 
It  is  said  that  every  time  we  think  of  an 
absent  person  we  affect  him  for  good  or  evil. 
Thoughts  are  material  substances  and  are  po- 
tent factors  of  nature,  in  the  same  way  that 
electricity  and  magnetism  are  substances  of  na- 
ture; and  the  brain  serves  in  its  function  of  the 
generation  of  thoughts  just  as  the  telegraphic 
battery  does  in  the  transmission  of  information 
from  one  place  to  another  and  almost  instanta- 
neously around  the  earth.  The  brain  is  a  battery 
and  thoughts  charge  that  battery  according  to 
the  will  force  back  of  it.  If  one  wills  to  have 
good  thoughts  he  has  them,  if  he  wills  evil,  evil 
ensues ;  if  he  wills  health,  health  to  a  degree  fol- 
lows, and  why?  The  physical  body  is  builded 
through  the  powers  of  intelligence.  The  phys- 
ical body  does  not  build  itself.  Seventeen  ele- 
ments of  the  earth  would  always  be  distributed 
in  and  around  the  earth  were  they  not  acted  upon 
by  some  intelligent  force.  That  proposition 
must  be  apparent  to  ever}'^  thinking  mind.  That 
intelligent  force  must  have  a  conscious  existence 
and  must  be  under  the  domination  of  a  superior 
force.  The  mind  of  man  has  all  the  qualities  of 
will,  reason,  the  accumulation  of  facts,  and  mental 
force  that  are  necessary  for  his  well-being.  Now 
he  did  not  create  any  of  those  forces ;  while  he  is 


234     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

associated  with  them  and  they  are  a  part  of  his 
make-up  as  a  man,  they  are,  in  fact,  independ- 
ent of  him  and  play  upon  him  in  the  same  way 
that  the  sunhght  plays  upon  the  plant  and  gives 
it  vitality. 

Through  the  force  of  man's  will,  his  person 
acts.  He  wills  to  go  to  a  certain  place  and  his 
physical  organism  takes  him  there.  He  wills  to 
do  a  thing,  and  he  does  it.  The  body  never 
would  perform  the  act  of  locomotion  did  not 
the  will  first  direct  the  act.  The  mind  not  only 
controls  the  body  in  the  everyday  vocations  of  life, 
but  it  is  often  the  cause  of  death.  How  often  we 
hear  of  a  person  falling  dead  from  the  effects  of 
fright !  Is  that  not  caused  from  the  power  of 
the  mind  over  the  ph^^sical?  We  frequently 
learn  of  persons  dying  from  the  effects  of  good 
news,  which  struck  the  mind  so  forcibly  that 
death  followed.  There  are  cases  recorded  where 
the  lives  of  culprits  have  been  taken  through 
the  force  of  mind  over  mind.  Take  the 
experiment,  for  instance,  made  on  a  condemned 
criminal  of  bleeding  him  to  death.  He  was 
informed  that  he  was  to  die  from  bleeding, 
his  ej^es  were  bandaged,  his  arm  corded,  and  an 
incision  of  a  slight  nature  made  on  the  outside ; 
warm  water  was  poured  on  the  ann  and  allowed 
to  fall  into  a  vessel  in  such  a  way  as  to  allow 
him  to  hear  it  dripping.  In  a  little  while  the 
physicians  would  whisper  that  he  was  going, 
going,   going,  that   in  a   few  minutes  he  would 


PREACHING  AND  HEALING       235 

be  dead.  The  result  was  that  he  did  expire. 
What  caused  that  phenomenon  ?  It  was  the  effect 
of  mind  over  mind. 

We  all  know  the  effects  of  hypnotism  on  the 
person  of  an  individual  under  its  influence.  The 
hypnotist  can  make  the  subject  do  anything 
and  it  has  been  proved  in  court  and  established 
by  judicial  investigation  that  hypnotism  has  been 
used  to  cause  a  person  to  commit  crimes  under  the 
power  of  suggestion.  In  some  cases  it  has  been 
murder;  often  seduction  and  robbery  of  wealthy 
persons  is  produced  through  these  influences. 
The  power  of  mind  over  mind  is  incalculable 
when  carried  to  its  utmost.  But  in  every  in- 
stance the  person  acted  upon  must  have  faith ; 
without  faith  there  is  no  redemption  and  no  cure. 
Is  that  a  scientific  truth?  If  so,  why?  Jesus 
never  told  us.  The  great  divines  have  never 
told  us  only  as  a  saving  grace  and  that  is  prob- 
lematical. No  man  was  ever  cured  against  his 
will.  If  a  man  wants  to  go  to  hell  there  is  a 
vehicle  alwaj^s  at  hand.  If  he  wants  to  get  sick, 
he  can  do  so. 

Man's  composition  is  of  two  parts,  the  physical 
and  spiritual.  The  spiritual  is  the  man,  the  phys- 
ical the  house  in  which  he  lives,  as  we  have  often 
sai(J  during  the  progress  of  this  work.  The 
spiritual  is  the  thinking  part  of  man,  the  active 
part,  the  part  that  acts,  feels,  hears,  sees,  loves, 
hates,  and  the  part  that  acts  upon  all  the  five 
senses  and  stirs  every  emotion  which  affects  the 
body. 


236     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

The  science  of  mind  Is  this:  The  physical 
is  composed  of  intelligent  atoms,  little  agencies, 
doing  their  silent  work  of  building  up  and  tear- 
ing down  when  we  are  asleep  or  awake.  The 
intelligence  of  our  make-up  has  a  great  deal  of 
influence  on  those  intelligent  atoms  and  com- 
binations of  atoms.  Whenever  the  mind  is  per- 
ceptibly affected,  those  atoms  are  also  aff^ected 
to  some  degree ;  thus,  when  we  come  in  contact 
with  a  healer,  one  possessed  of  a  surplus  of  spirit 
power  and  put  our  mind  in  harmony  with  his  mind, 
we  are  affected  more  or  less.  Now  add  to  this  the 
putting  on  of  hands  as  the  elders  were  commanded 
to  do  and  a  cure  is  usually  the  result.  The 
science  of  putting  on  of  hands  is  this:  The  cir- 
culation of  all  persons  who  are  sick  is  more  or 
less  impeded  or  accelerated.  The  healer  has  a 
surplus  of  magnetism  in  his  person.  By  the 
contact  of  hands  to  the  affected  part  the  mag- 
netism of  the  healer  is  imparted  to  the  sick  per- 
son and  the  affected  part,  and  that  additional 
life-giving  power  has  an  effect  on  the  sick  one. 
That,  together  with  the  power  of  the  mind  or 
soul,  acting  in  harmony  with  the  other  soul,  has 
a  healing  influence  and  in  the  case  of  Jesus,  a 
cure  was  brought  about  in  every  instance.  Had 
Jesus  stopped  to  explain  his  magical  powers  he 
would  not  have  had  the  influence  he  did,  for  the 
people  are  always  after  the  wonderful  and  mys- 
tical. Talk  common  sense  to  them  and  they  pass 
it  by  as  of  no  consequence ;  call  it  some  unnatural 


PREACHING  AND  HEALING       237 

power,  they  aver  it  is  true  and  cling  to  it  the 
tighter.  It  is  mystery  that  gets  followers.  Com- 
mon sense  is  too  tame  to  attract  attention. 

CASTING  OUT  DEVILS 

In  writing  and  studying  the  life  of  the  Master, 
in  order  to  get  the  true  genius  of  his  works,  we 
must  consider  the  state  of  society,  the  manner  of 
living,  the  education,  the  peculiar  expressions  and 
terms  used  to  indicate  certain  phases  of  the  mind, 
religion,  belief,  and  what  they  meant  by  certain 
terms  used.  Events  that  are  said  to  have  trans- 
pired in  the  days  of  Jesus  would  be  considered, 
in  many  instances,  as  mere  figments  of  a  dis- 
ordered imagination,  if  reported  to-day ;  and  yet 
we  must  concede,  that  nature  is  invariable  and 
the  same  laws  through  which  an  event  occurred 
in  the  days  of  Jesus  are  in  force  at  this  time,  if 
the  conditions  are  the  same. 

When  Jesus  commenced  his  ministry,  among 
other  acts  of  healing,  he  cast  out  devils.  The 
act  of  casting  out  devils  is  considered  by  skeptics 
as  a  mere  play  upon  words  to  magnify  the  powers 
of  Jesus  in  the  minds  of  the  ignorant  and  sus- 
ceptible. In  the  minds  of  believers,  it  is  con- 
sidered as  a  miracle  and  as  indubitable  evidence 
of  a  divine  power  in  the  person  of  the  Master, 
not  bestowed  on  any  other  person  at  any  time 
during  the  history  of  man. 

To  comprehend  this  problem  in  the  work  of  the 
Master  we  must  first  analyze  the  meaning  of  the 


238     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

word  devil.  In  those  days  people  believed  in  per- 
sonal devils  and  personal  gods,  which  acted  upon 
men  and  women  in  various  ways ;  and  in  fact, 
many  people  believe,  at  this  time,  in  a  personal 
god  and  in  the  prevalence  of  devils  which  torment 
by  visitations  of  evil  persons  both  in  this  world 
and  the  next.  It  is  a  scientific  fact,  well  known 
to  all  students  of  the  spiritual  forces  of  nature, 
that  under  certain  conditions  evil  spirits  can  and 
do  take  possesion  of  the  organisms  and  drive 
out  the  individuality  of  the  victims  and  make  them 
talk  and  act  like  some  one  other  than  themselves. 
No  well-informed  person  will  deny  that  some  peo- 
ple become  obsessed,  and  believe,  talk,  and  repre- 
sent themselves  to  be  some  other  person.  We 
call  that  condition  obsession.  When  found  in 
this  sad  condition,  generall^^  the  patient  is  sent 
off  to  an  insane  asylum  as  being  insane,  where 
he  is  kept  in  confinement  perhaps  for  the  remain- 
der of  his  life.  Among  the  ignorant,  that  con- 
dition is  called  insanity ;  among  the  spiritually 
enlightened  it  is  called  obsession ;  the  same  thing 
in  the  days  of  Jesus  was  called  "  being  possessed 
of  devils." 

Jesus  had  power  over  that  condition  and  could 
relieve  the  suff'erer ;  there  are  people  who  can  do 
the  same  thing  to-day.  The  Catholic  priests 
have  a  ritualistic  form  of  driving  out  evil  spirits, 
which  is  called  exorcism ;  this  is  done  by  prayer, 
and  a  peculiar  process  of  mental  action  by  which 
the  mind  of  the  patient  is  controlled  by  the  priest 


PREACHING  AND  HEALING       239 

or  exorcist  to  such  an  extent  that  the  obsessing 
spirit  is  driven  out,  or  induced  to  leave  the 
patient,  and  the  person  is  restored  to  his  normal 
condition. 

Obsession,  or  being  possessed  of  the  devil,  was 
a  very  common  thing  in  the  days  of  the  Master, — 
more  prevalent  than  it  is  now,  and  more  trouble- 
some. Among  the  Greeks  and  other  ancients, 
they  had  a  belief  that  at  the  time  of  the  birth 
of  every  individual  a  demon,  or  spirit,  was  as- 
signed to  him,  to  attend,  protect,  and  guide  him 
during  life.  The  Greeks  believed  that  there  were 
two  such  demons,  or  Genii,  assigned  to  attend 
the  person  through  life, —  one  a  good  demon  and 
the  other  evil, —  and  at  death  the  spirit  was  taken 
charge  of  by  the  attending  Genii  and  delivered 
over  to  his  punishment  or  reward,  according  to 
the  judgment  of  the  attending  spirit. 

Socrates  asserted  that  he  had  a  demon  attending 
him  at  all  times  with  whom  he  conversed  and  held 
communion  and  that  when  any  of  his  friends  was 
going  to  engage  in  any  undertaking  which  would 
prove  unfortunate  his  Genii  informed  him  of  the 
fact  and  he  gave  advice  accordingly. 

Those  invisible  powers  were  called  by  various 
names  such  as  demons.  Genii,  Lares,  Penates,  Dem- 
igods, Heroes,  Manes,  Devils,  and  Spirits.  They 
were  presumed  to  have  the  power  of  transform- 
ing themselves  into  any  shape  or  condition  they 
wished,  hence  they  were  supposed  by  the  early 
fathers    of   the    Christian   faith   to   be   ungainly 


MO     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

monsters,  some  with  horns,  some  with  cloven  feet, 
fire-like  63^68,  gnashing  teeth,  and  of  beastly  and 
hideous  appearance.  With  that  impression  on 
the  minds  of  the  ignorant  the  priests  exercised 
great  control  over  their  flocks. 

Adam  Clark  moderaized  the  expression  of  "  un- 
clean devils  "  as  used  in  Mark  i.  23,  Luke  iv.  33 
into  "  unclean  spirits," —  that  is,  spirits  of  dead 
men  who  came  back  and  familiarized  themselves 
with  the  living.  It  has  not  only  grown  into  a 
beHef  with  some  but  from  many  observations  and 
experiments  on  the  line  of  psychic  research  it  is 
asserted  as  a  scientific  fact,  that  man  is  frequently 
attended  by  spirits  from  the  other  side  of  life  who 
exercise  great  influence  at  times  over  the  living; 
thus,  evil  spirits  will  lead  those  whom  they  can 
reach  into  all  kinds  of  evil  ways  and  crimes ; 
good  spirits  will  inspire  those  they  associate  with 
and  attend  with  good  thoughts  and  intentions  and 
keep  them  from  the  ways  of  evil.  It  is  known 
that  men  can  avoid  the  one  and  have  the  influence 
of  the  other  class  by  his  own  eff^orts  of  mind  and 
conduct.  Evil  and  good  cannot  mix ;  if  the 
thoughts  of  a  person  are  evil,  evil  spirits  will 
find  comfort  in  that  atmosphere  and  good  spirits 
will  be  driven  away.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the 
thoughts  of  an  individual  dwell  on  the  good  side 
of  life  and  he  lives  with  that  in  view,  bad  spirits 
do  not  find  it  congenial  to  be  about  such  an  one 
and  will  leave  association  with  him  for  those  who 
feed  by  their  dail}'  lives  the  sordid  wishes  of  the 
vile  of  the  other  world. 


PREACHING  AND  HEALING      24-1 

Keeping  in  mind  always,  in  studying  ourselves, 
that  man  while  in  this  life  is  but  an  incarnate 
spirit,  that  those  who  have  experienced  the  change 
of  death  are  disincarnate  spirits,  and  that  those 
spirits  do  not  communicate  under  certain  con- 
ditions with  each  other,  and  that  the  disincarnate 
spirits  have  great  power  over  the  incarnate,  for 
evil,  which  is  to  be  avoided,  or  for  good  which 
should  be  encouraged,  we  can  select  our  spiritual 
company  on  the  same  principle  that  we  can  select 
our  company  on  this  side  of  life.  And  one  is 
as  important  as  the  other. 

JESUS  AS  A  SENSITIVE 
All  through  the  old  Bible  are  evidences  of  a 
future  life  in  some  form  or  condition,  but  it  is 
not  demonstrated  or  taught  as  a  life  of  individual 
conscious  entity.  The  ancient  Jews  had  their 
God,  angels,  archangels,  cherubs,  devils,  demons, 
spirits,  ghosts,  and  invisibilities  of  various  kinds ; 
but  there  was  no  system,  science,  or  proof  of  man's 
immortality,  or  conscious  life  after  death  until 
Jesus  came.  He  demonstrated  the  truth  of  life 
everlasting,  laying  down  rules  by  which  con- 
tinued life  can  be  demonstrated  and  proved  be- 
yond a  doubt.  But  to  prove  that  fact  certain 
rules  must  be  observed  or  there  can  be  no  evidence 
adduced  other  than  that  of  reason ;  and  as  reason 
is  so  veritable  it  does  not  produce  the  satisfaction 
that  the  demonstration  does.  In  fact,  reason 
unless  the  proper  premises  are  laid  to  start  from, 


242     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

will  lead  Into  materialism  and  total  extinction 
of  life  at  the  time  of  death. 

The  power  of  the  spirit  world  over  this  world 
is  manifest  in  the  life  of  Jesus  when,  according  to 
the  record,  the  angel  Gabriel  was  sent  from  God 
to  the  city  of  Nazareth  and  there  informed  a 
young  woman,  Mary,  that  she  should  bring  forth 
a  son  and  that  she  should  call  his  name  Jesus. 
Being  doubtful  of  the  fulfillment  of  the  angelic 
promise,  and  expressing  some  surprise  at  the 
coming  of  such  an  event,  the  angel  to  quiet  her, 
said,  "  The  H0I3'  Ghost  shall  come  upon  thee 
and  the  power  of  the  Highest  shall  overshadow 
thee."  Luke  I.  26-38.  And  the  promised  son 
should  be  called  the  son  of  God.  The  power  of  the 
Highest  was  a  spirit  power  which  should  Imbue  her 
mind  to  the  comprehension  of  beautiful  thoughts 
and  spiritual  things ;  that  such  a  power  more  or 
less  controls  the  condition  of  motherhood  at  this 
time,  is  a  fixed  law  of  nature.  The  term  Holy 
Ghost  is  by  some  theologians  tortured  into  an 
entity,  into  the  third  person  of  the  Trinity,  but 
the  original  phrase  will  not  justify  that  Inter- 
pretation. The  phrase  is  "  ek  pneumatos  hag- 
g'lon,"  meaning,  "  out  of  pure  spirit."  The  word 
pneuma  is  spirit.  Haggion,  or  aggaion,  means 
good,  or  pure.  Therefore,  Mary  was  under  pure 
spirit  power  at  the  time  Jesus  was  conceived. 

The  beautiful  vision  at  the  baptism  of  Jesus 
was  a  spiritual  manifestation  which  was  one  of 
the  links  In  the  development  of  Jesus  as  a  sensi- 


PREACHING  AND  HEALING       243 

tlve,  or  medium,  preparatory  for  his  great  work 
in  demonstrating  spiritual  manifestations.  This 
spirit  manifestation  is  recounted  in  Matt.  iii.  16, 
17.  "And  Jesus,  when  he  was  baptized,  went 
up  straightway  out  of  the  water,  and,  lo,  the 
heavens  were  opened  unto  him,  and  he  saw  the 

SPIRIT     OF     GOD     DESCENDING     LIKE     A     DOVE,     and 

hghting  upon  him,  and  lo,  a  voice  out  of  heaven 
saying,  This  is  my  beloved  son,  in  whom  I  am  well 
pleased." 

The  interpretation  of  this  text  is  generally 
that  the  multitude  gathered  at  the  time  saw  the 
real  spirit  of  God  in  the  shape  and  form  of  a 
dove  come  from  out  the  sky  and  light  upon 
the  person  of  Jesus.  No  one  saw  this  manifesta- 
tion but  Jesus  and  John.  John  says,  "  I  saw 
the  spirit  of  God  descending  from  heaven  like  a 
dove  and  lighting  upon  him."  John  i.  32. 
Mark  the  language, —  the  spirit  was  not  like  a 
dove,  but  it  was  descending  from  heaven  like  a 
dove;  it  was  the  descent,  beautiful,  gentle,  and 
soothing  like  that  of  a  dove,  that  John  saw. 

When  Jesus  had  become  prepared  for  his  work 
by  cleansing  in  the  form  of  baptism,  and  forty 
days  of  fast  and  seclusion  in  the  wilderness,  he 
entered  upon  his  work  for  humanity.  He 
brought  the  kingdom  of  heaven  down  to  man  by 
demonstrating  that  the  way  to  heaven  is  through 
the  gateway  of  human  goodness  of  one  unto 
another.  The  first  service  that  Jesus  rendered 
to  his  fellow-man  was  the  act  of  healing,  for  which 


244     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

he  was  fully  developed  and  prepared.  He  began 
at  Galilee  after  the  baptism  which  John  preached. 
He  could  not  have  performed  the  great  acts  of 
healing  had  he  not  been  fully  endowed  by  God 
to  do  so.  "  For  God  anointed  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  power;  who  went 
about  doing  good  and  healing  all  that  were  op- 
pressed of  the  devil;  for  God  was  with  him." 
Acts  X.  37,  38. 

THE    LIFE    THAT   JESUS    TAUGHT 

How  much  we  have  strayed  from  the  life  that 
Jesus  taught !  He  came  into  the  world  a  poor, 
friendless,  and  unobserved  being,  unprepared  so  far 
as  his  surroundings  were  concerned  for  the  ordi- 
nary battles  of  life. 

The  period  of  the  world's  history  in  which  he 
came  was  as  unforbidding  as  his  preparation 
seemed  unsuited  to  a  great  work.  The  people 
were  spiritually  dead.  They  scrambled  for  the 
spoils  of  the  present  and  despised  the  demands 
of  the  future,  although  the  old  Bible  from  the 
third  chapter  of  Genesis  where  we  read  that  God 
walked  through  the  garden  and  conversed  with 
Adam  and  Eve  to  the  last  paragraph  of  the  last 
chapter  of  Malachi,  where  the  spirit  of  Elijah  was 
promised  which  afterwards  was  sent  in  the  person 
of  John  the  Baptist,  and  which  says,  "  Behold,  I 
will  send  you  Elijah  the  prophet  before  the  com- 
ing of  the  great  and  dreadful  day  of  the  Lord; 
and  he  shall  turn  the  heart  of  the  fathers  to  the 


PREACHING  AND  HEALING      245 

children,  and  the  heart  of  the  children  to  their 
fathers,  lest  I  come  and  smite  the  earth  with  a 
curse,"  is  full  of  evidences  of  a  future  life  and  the 
intercommunion  of  the  two  worlds  for  the  instruc- 
tion and  betterment  of  men  on  this  side.  But 
those  great  lessons  were  heeded  not  by  the  people ; 
they  had  closed  their  eyes  to  the  true  necessities 
of  life,  and  had  given  themselves  over  to  the 
crowding  demands  of  the  flesh,  to  which  alone 
they  gave  heed.  Their  hearts  were  locked  against 
all  spiritual  admonitions.  The  wails  of  the  poor 
and  oppressed  were  sweet  music  to  their  souls,  if 
advantage  or  revenge  found  solace  there.  Hu- 
man rights  were  measured  by  the  rule  of  might; 
the  strong  aggressed  on  the  rights  of  the  weak ; 
and  the  voices  of  men's  own  souls  were  submerged 
beneath  the  waves  of  clash  and  clamor. 

Meek,  lowly,  submissive,  kind,  and  gentle  came 
Jesus  among  them,  and  after  he  had  been  forty 
days  in  preparation  and  prayer,  he  opened  his 
mouth  with  words  of  goodness  and  informed  the 
people  that  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  was  upon  him, 
that  he  had  been  anointed  to  preach  the  gospel 
to  the  poor,  he  had  been  sent  to  heal  the  broken- 
hearted, to  preach  deliverance  to  the  captives, 
recovering  of  sight  to  the  blind,  and  to  set  at 
liberty  them  that  were  bruised. 

Those  were  some  of  his  physical  duties ;  his 
spiritual  duties  reached  out  into  a  broader  and 
grander  field ;  they  penetrated  the  arcana  of 
heaven  and  from  the  bosom  and  wisdom  of  God 


246     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

brought  to  man  the  glorious  truths  of  life  eternal 
in  a  house  "  made  without  hands."  In  this  branch 
of  his  work  he  glorified  the  grave  and  on  the 
smiles  of  the  sweet  angel  of  death  he  imprinted 
the  word  "  peace."  Arising  from  the  cloud  of 
midnight  darkness  which  surrounded  his  people, 
he  lighted  a  pathway  that  leads  to  the  light  of 
eternal  day  fraught  with  happiness  and  harmony* 
where  all  may  dwell  in  the  sweetest  felicity,  who 
will;  but  the  jewels  of  his  heart-work  were  re- 
jected, trampled  under  foot  by  those  he  came  to 
save,  and  for  his  offered  goodness  and  services  to 
his  fellow-man  he  was  compelled  to  bear  his  own 
cross  to  the  hill  of  "  skulls  "  where  his  services 
to  man  were  requited  by  his  own  blood. 

Was  there  ever  such  a  sacrifice  for  such  a 
cause.''  Was  there  ever  such  an  example  of  self- 
sacrifice.''  Was  there  ever  a  more  deserving  ex- 
ample to  man  ?  Can  there  be  found  a  better  light 
to  go  by,  a  truer  road  to  follow,  than  the  one 
lighted  by  the  love  divine  of  our  Master,  Jesus 
Christ.?  Can  we  deny  his  lessons  and  be  true 
to  ourselves.?  Dare  we  close  our  eyes  to  his  dem- 
onstrated truths  and  say  there  is  no  hereafter 
and  that  spirits  do  not  commune  with  the  living 
under  certain  conditions.?  Those  who  maintain 
such  opinions  must  close  their  eyes  to  the  demon- 
strations of  the  past,  their  ears  to  the  voice  of 
the  ages. 

Jesus  foresaw  the  persecutions  that  would  be- 
fall his  disciples  at  the  hands  of  those  they  would 


PREACHING  AND  HEALING      247 

enlighten,  and  instructed  them  as  to  their  defense 
when  they  should  be  delivered  up  to  the  persecu- 
tors. He  enjoins  upon  them  the  importance  of 
relying  on  the  spirits  for  advice  and  guidance. 
*'  But  when  they  deliver  you  up,  take  no  thought 
how  or  what  ye  shall  speak:  for  it  shall  be  given 
you  that  same  hour  what  ye  shall  speak.  For 
it  is  not  ye  that  speak,  but  the  Spirit  of  your 
Father  which  speaketh  in  you."  Matt.  x.  19,  20. 
The  spirit  here  referred  to  is  not  an  earthly  father, 
but  the  protective  father  or  guide,  on  the  other 
side  of  life.  In  how  many  ways  that  father 
speaks  to  us.  We  hear  him  through  the  lips  of 
innocence,  from  the  wail  of  the  woe-stricken, 
from  the  bruises  of  the  heart  inflicted  with  words 
of  cruelty.  We  hear  him  in  the  silent  hours  of 
prayer  when  the  heart  goes  out  to  love  ineffable. 
We  hear  him  in  the  whispers  of  the  twilight  of 
life.  And  O,  if  in  the  morning,  when  the  heart 
pulsates  with  vigor  and  energy  we  would  only 
stop  for  a  moment  and  list  to  the  tones  of  anxious 
love  that  the  father  sends  burning  into  our  souls, 
how  many  shoals  we  would  escape,  how  many 
regrets  we  would  avoid,  how  many  lamps  would 
be  lighted  for  us  along  the  pathway  that  leads 
to  the  eternity  ahead  .f*  It  was  the  love  of  that 
father  that  Jesus  heralded  along  the  way  that 
led  him  to  the  cross.  It  is  that  love  which  warms 
a  father's  heart  for  his  child,  that  wells  as  a 
spring  of  perennial  flow  in  the  heart  of  a  mother, 
and  an  outpour  of  heaven  that  God  sent  along 


248     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

the  annals  of  time  when  "  He  so  loved  the  world 
that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  son,  that  whoso- 
ever believed  on  him  should  not  perish  but  have 
everlasting  life." 

Has  this  paragraph  any  meaning  when  refer- 
ence is  made  to  everlasting  life?  Jesus  never 
used  or  uttered  a  useless  term.  If  those  who  have 
lived  a  deserving  life  will  eventually  evolve  to 
the  presence  and  goodness  of  God,  as  a  corollary, 
those  who  have  forfeited  their  own  souls  by 
burdening  them  beyond  the  power  of  reform  must 
sink  to  the  other  extreme.  If  there  is  a  heaven 
there  must  be  a  hell.  I  do  not  mean  to  be  under- 
stood to  say  a  place  of  extreme  torment  by  heat 
but  a  mental  and  spiritual  condition,  where  the 
lost  one  "  roves  through  parched  deserts,  seek- 
ing a  place  of  rest  and  finds  none." 

To  save  the  world  from  that  dreadful  condition 
Jesus  was  sent  and  he  who  heeds  not  that  mission 
mistakes  himself.  It  does  no  harm  to  do  right, 
live  right,  think  right,  and  offer  a  helping  hand  to 
those  in  need.  That  is  all  that  Jesus  imposed  upon 
us,  or  rather  that  is  all  that  is  necessary  for  our 
safety  in  the  trend  of  existence.  The  others 
are  ceremonial  and  not  essentials.  But  as  we  are 
now  on  the  spiritual  branch  of  the  teachings  of 
Jesus  let  us  keep  to  the  subject. 

Jesus  was  a  living  personification  of  love  and 
kindness.  The  wails  of  suffering  humanity 
wrung  his  heart  with  grief  and  knowing  the 
doom  of  sin-sunk  souls  below  the  line  of  regenera- 


PREACHING  AND  HEALING      249 

tion  or  reform,  he  wept.  Endowed  with  the 
greatest  psychic  powers  of  any  man  that  ever 
hved  he  went  about  the  country  teaching,  heahng 
the  sick,  and  exemplifying  the  powers  of  the 
spirit  world  through  him  to  such  an  extent  that 
his  wonders  reached  the  stolid  ears  of  cruel  Herod 
and  so  excited  him  because  he  had  taken  the  life 
of  John  to  appease  the  wounded  pride  of  his  wife, 
Avho  was  smarting  under  John's  rebuke  because 
she  had  married  the  brother  of  her  dead  husband, 
that  Herod  exclaimed,  when  he  heard  what  Jesus 
was  doing,  "  This  is  John  the  Baptist ;  he  is  risen 
from  the  dead ;  and  therefore  mighty  works  do 
show  forth  themselves  in  him."  Matt.  xiv.  1,  2. 
When  Jesus  heard  of  the  death  of  John  his 
heart  grieved  him  to  the  extreme  of  endurance 
and  he  departed  from  the  people  by  ship  and 
thence  into  a  desert  place,  where  alone  he  could 
commune  with  his  great  heart  of  love,  and  where 
none  but  God  could  hear ;  but  he  could  not  thus  es- 
cape the  curiosity  of  the  people ;  they  sought  him 
out  and  great  multitudes  from  the  cities  followed 
him  on  foot,  taking  their  sick  and  afflicted  with 
them.  On  seeing  the  anxious  faces  of  the  multi- 
tude following  him,  Jesus  was  moved  with  compas- 
sion toward  them  and  he  healed  their  sick.  The 
magnetic  power  of  the  Master  was  so  great  that  the 
multitude  lingered  in  the  great  desert,  unmind- 
ful of  the  approaching  night  or  of  their  own 
comforts,  with  nothing  to  eat.  Jesus  would  not 
have  them  sent  away  in  that  condition  and  com- 


250     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

manded  them  to  be  fed  but  he  was  informed  that 
they  had  but  five  loaves  and  two  fishes, —  a  rather 
scanty  repast  for  a  multitude, —  but  Jesus  com- 
manded the  same  to  be  brought  to  him  and  after 
seating  the  people  on  the  grass,  he  took  the 
loaves  and  fishes,  and  looking  up  to  heaven,  he 
blessed  and  brake  and  gave  to  the  disciples,  who 
fed  the  multitude,  numbering  five  thousand  besides 
women  and  children.  All  received  plenty  to  eat 
and  after  the  repast,  the  disciples  took  up  twelve 
baskets-full  of  scraps.  In  considering  this  won- 
derful phenomenon,  we  might  wonder  a  little  how 
it  was  that  they  were  in  a  desert  and  yet  were 
seated  on  grass.  There  was  a  great  rocky  stretch 
of  country  lying  between  Jerusalem  and  the  Dead 
Sea  in  a  region  that  was  otherwise  fertile,  that 
was  called  in  the  New  Testament,  a  desert. 

Jesus,  after  he  had  fed  the  multitude  and  sent 
them  away,  commanded  his  disciples  to  get  into 
a  ship  and  go  before  him  to  the  other  side,  while 
he  went  into  the  mountain  to  pray.  While  alone, 
in  the  silent  hour  of  the  evening,  communing  with 
his  God  in  prayer,  for  it  was  then  at  the  fourth 
watch  of  the  night,  a  windstorm  came  up,  the 
ship  was  tempest-tossed  and  the  disciples  became 
greatly  alarmed.  Jesus,  seeing  their  condition, 
stepped  upon  the  angry  waves  and  walked  upon 
the  bosom  of  the  sea  toward  the  writhing  ship. 
The  disciples  took  Jesus  to  be  a  spirit  and  they 
were  greatly  alaraied  and  cried  out  with  fear, 
but  Jesus  quieted  them  by  saying,  "  It  is  I,  be 


PREACHING  AND  HEALING       251 

not  afraid."  Peter,  recognizing  the  Master, 
started  to  meet  him,  but  finding  himself  sinking, 
cried  out,  "  Lord  save  me."  How  many  sinking 
souls  make  the  same  exclamation  but  without 
the  faith  of  Peter,  and  many  are  submerged  be- 
neath the  waves  of  eternity  with  no  awaiting  ship 
to  take  them  to  the  other  shore. 

The  transfiguration  on  the  mount  was  a  great 
phenomenon,  both  in  a  mediumistic  sense  and  as 
an  illustration  of  spirit-power  of  return.  The 
phenomenon  of  transfiguration  was  not  a  new 
manifestation  to  the  children  of  Israel,  for  Moses 
had  been  transfigured  fifteen  hundred  years  before 
this,  as  told  in  Exodus  xxxiv.  29.  Stephen  was 
also  transfigured :  "  And  all  that  sat  in  council, 
looking  steadfastly  on  him,  saw  his  face  as  it  had 
been  the  face  of  an  angel."  Acts  vi.  15.  "  Jesus 
taketh  Peter,  James,  and  John  his  brother  up 
into  an  high  mountain,  and  was  transfigured  be- 
fore them :  and  his  face  did  shine  as  the  sun,  and 
his  raiment  was  white  as  the  light;  and  behold 
there  appeared  unto  them  Moses  and  Elias  talk- 
ing with  him,  and  a  bright  cloud  overshadowed 
them,  and,  behold,  a  voice  out  of  the  cloud,  which 
said,  "  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well 
pleased;  hear  ye  him.  "     Matt.  xvii.  1-5. 

Jesus  foretold  his  own  death  and  knew  the 
dreadful  coming  of  that  hour  when  supercilious 
bigotry  enthroned  in  the  souls  of  ignorance  would 
force  him  to  the  cross.  "  The  son  of  man  shall 
be  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  men  and  they  shall 


252     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

kill  him  and  the  third  day  he   shall  be   raised 
again." 

JESUS'  PURPOSE 

Jesus  was  not  sent  to  the  Gentiles  but  to  the 
lost  sheep  of  Israel  and  on  this  point  he  was  very 
tenacious  when  he  first  started  out  on  his  ministry ; 
but  the  worst  enemies  he  had  to  contend  with 
from  the  very  first,  were  those  of  his  own  nation 
and  people.  They  contended  with  him  because 
his  disciples  failed  to  wash  their  hands  before 
eating,  as  was  the  custom  among  the  Jews.  On 
that  occasion  Jesus  said,  "  Not  that  which  goeth 
into  the  mouth  defileth  a  man,  but  the  things 
which  proceed  out  of  the  mouth  come  forth 
from  the  heart,  and  they  defile  the  man.  For 
out  of  the  heart  proceed  evil  thoughts,  mur- 
ders, adulteries,  fornications,  thefts,  false  witness, 
blasphemies.  These  are  the  things  that  defile  a 
man."  Jesus  withdrew  from  their  presence  then 
and  went  out  to  Tyre  and  Sidon ;  and,  behold, 
a  woman  of  Canaan  came  out  from  those  borders, 
and  cried,  saying,  "  Have  mercy  on  me,  O  Lord, 
thou  Son  of  David.  My  daughter  is  grievously 
vexed  with  a  devil."  But  he  answered  her  not  a 
word.  And  his  disciples  came  and  besought  him 
saying,  "  Send  her  away,  for  she  crieth  after 
us."     But  he  answered  and  said,  "  i  am  not  sent 

BUT     TO     THE     liOST     SHEEP     OF     THE     HOUSE     OF 

ISRAEL."     But  on  account  of  her  faith  and  per- 
sistence, he  did  finally  cure  her  daughter. 


PREACHING  AND  HEALING       253 

Jesus  was  so  loyal  to  his  mission  that  he  for- 
bade his  disciples  from  preaching  to  the  Samari- 
tans and  Gentiles.  When  he  sent  them  out  he 
said  unto  them,  "  Go  not  into  any  way  of  the 
Gentiles,  and  enter  not  into  any  city  of  the 
Samaritans ;  but  go  rather  to  the  lost  sheep  of 
the  house  of  Israel.  And  as  ye  go,  preach,  say- 
ing. The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand.  Heal 
the  sick,  raise  the  dead,  cleanse  the  lepers,  cast 
out  devils ;  freely  ye  have  received,  freely  give. 
Get  you  no  gold,  or  silver,  or  brass  in  your 
purses,  nor  scrip  for  your  journey,  neither  two 
coats,  neither  shoes,  nor  yet  staves,  for  the  labor- 
er is  worthy  of  his  food."  Matt.  x.  5-15.  And 
he  promised  his  disciples  that  those  who  were 
faithful  and  followed  him,  in  the  regeneration 
when  the  Son  of  man  shall  set  on  the  throne  of 
his  glory  they  should  sit  upon  the  twelve  thrones, 
judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.  Matt  xix. 
28,  29. 

THE  SABBATH,  SUNDAY,  AND  THE  LORD'S 
DAY 

Jesus  was  a  great  reformer ;  wherever  there  was 
a  bad  law,  rule  of  conduct,  belief,  practice,  or 
action  he  was  always  ready  to  point  out  the 
wrong  and  suggest  the  remedy.  One  of  the  most 
notable  instances  was  his  repudiation  of  the 
binding  force  of  the  fourth  commandment  of  the 
Decalogue  given  to  Moses  on  Mount  Sinai :  Re- 


254     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

member  the  sabbath  day,  to  keep  it  holy.  Six 
days  shalt  thou  labor,  and  do  all  thy  work;  but 
the  seventh  day  is  the  sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy 
God;  in  it  thou  shalt  not  do  any  work,  thou  nor 
thy  son,  nor  thy  daughter,  nor  thy  manservant, 
nor  thy  maidservant,  nor  thy,  cattle,  nor  the 
stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates ;  for  in  six 
days  the  Lord  made  heaven  and  earth,  the  sea  and 
all  that  in  them  is,  and  rested  the  seventh  day; 
wherefore  the  Lord  blessed  the  seventh  day  and 
hallowed  it.     Ex.   xx.   9-11. 

This  comandment  is  taught  yet  by  some  as  a  liv- 
ing law  written  by  the  finger  of  God  himself  on  a 
table  of  stone,  for  the  double  purpose  of  enforc- 
ing a  worship,  and  of  observing  the  seventh  day 
rest  from  labor.  But  it  was  nullified  by  both 
Jesus  and  Paul  and  has  no  binding  force  now  as 
a  divine  obligation.  There  was  no  penalty  at- 
tached to  the  breaking  of  the  law  as  given  to 
Moses  on  the  mount,  but  afterwards  the  effect  of 
the  law  was  repeated  and  a  penalty  for  the  viola- 
tion thereof  was  named,  which  was  death.  "And 
the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying.  Speak  thou 
also  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  saying.  Verily 
my  sabbaths  ye  shall  keep :  for  it  is  a  sign  between 
me  and  you  throughout  generations ;  that  ye  may 
know  that  I  am  the  Lord  that  doth  sanctify  you. 
Ye  shall  keep  the  sabbath  therefore ;  for  it  is  holy 
unto  you:  everyone  that  defileth  it  shall  surely 
be  put  to  death:  for  whosoever  doeth  any  work 
therein,  that  soul  shall  be  cut  off  from  among 


PREACHING  AND  HEALING      255 

his  people.  Six  days  may  work  be  done ;  but 
in  the  seventh  is  the  sabbath  of  rest,  holy  to  the 
Lord:  whosoever  doeth  any  work  in  the  sabbath 
day,  he  shall  surely  be  put  to  death.  Wherefore 
the  children  of  Israel  shall  keep  the  sabbath,  to 
observe  the  sabbath  throughout  their  generations, 
for  a  perpetual  covenant.  It  is  a  sign  between  me 
and  the  children  of  Israel  forever :  for  in  six  days 
the  Lord  made  heaven  and  earth,  and  on  the  sev- 
enth day  he  rested."     Ex.  xxxi.  12—17. 

How  far  the  violation  of  the  command  might 
be  extended  without  incurring  the  extreme 
penalty  of  death  had  not  been  settled ;  but  its  en- 
forcement was  vigilantly  observed  and  its  ex- 
tremes settled  when  one  of  the  Hebrews  was 
detected  in  the  crime  of  picking  up  sticks  on  the 
sabbath. 

"  While  the  children  of  Israel  were  in  the  wil- 
derness, they  found  a  man  that  gathered  sticks 
upon  the  sabbath  day.  And  they  that  found  him 
gathering  sticks  brought  him  unto  Moses  and 
Aaron,  and  unto  all  the  congregation.  And  they 
put  him  in  ward,  because  it  was  not  declared  what 
should  be  done  to  him.  And  the  Lord  said 
unto  Moses,  The  man  shall  be  surely  put  to 
death :  all  the  congregation  shall  stone  him  with 
stones  without  the  camp.  And  all  the  congre- 
gation brought  him  without  the  camp,  and  stoned 
him  with  stones,  and  he  died ;  as  the  Lord  com- 
manded Moses."     Num.   xv.   32-36. 

The  Mosaic  law  served  as  a  general  guide  for 


256     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

the  Israelites  to  go  by,  but  in  many  instances  it 
was  rather  vague  and  uncertain  when  it  came  to 
the  practical  uses  of  the  people.  That  vague- 
ness called  for  interpretations  and  special  rulings ; 
to  meet  those  exigencies  a  class  of  learned  men 
was  formed  called  scribes,  which  answered  that 
people  as  lawyers  and  judges  of  courts  do  the 
people  of  this  age. 

Celebrated  among  that  class  of  expounders  and 
instructors  in  the  laws  of  Moses  was  Gamaliel,  at 
whose  feet  Paul  received  his  early  education  which 
induced  him  into  a  hatred  of  the  teachings  of 
Jesus  and  his  followers  with  the  wicked  ambition 
to  hunt  them  down  and  persecute  them  to  the  full- 
est extent. 

The  priests  were  a  different  class  from  the 
scribes ;  their  duties  pertained  more  particularly 
to  the  services  in  and  about  the  temples,  such  as 
sacrifices,  worship,  and  instructions  in  matters  of 
religion ;  while  the  scribes  interpreted  the  meaning 
of  the  laws  and  prescribed  rules  to  govern  the 
people  in  that  respect.  They  were  a  higher  class 
of  public  servants  than  were  the  priests,  and  had 
more  influence  with  the  people  because  their  rul- 
ings made  the  laws  of  conduct  for  the  Jews  at 
large  as  well  as  the  laws  of  individual  conduct. 
In  their  capacity  as  judges  they  passed  on  the 
subject  of  the  fourth  commandment  defining 
what  acts  were  lawful  and  what  were  unlawful  for 
the  people  on  the  Sabbath.  In  their  definition 
they  laid  down  thirty-nine  different  acts,  with  cer- 


PREACHING  AND  HEALING       257 

tain  side  acts,  which  were  unlawful  for  the  people 
to  do  on  that  day ;  among  them  were  the  forbid- 
ding of  harvesting  grain,  or  healing  the  sick. 

With  this  class  of  the  Jews  Jesus  had  many 
controversies.  They  were  on  the  alert  to  catch 
him  in  some  act  violating  their  laws,  but  Jesus  was 
strong  enough  in  mind  and  steadfast  enough  in 
purpose  to  do  and  advise  that  which  was  right  and 
proper  under  all  circumstances  though  death 
looked  him  in  the  face  for  his  acts  toward  right- 
ing the  wrongs  of  the  people. 

The  old  Jewish  priesthood  had  served  its  pur- 
pose ;  the  laws  under  which  they  officiated  had 
become  oppressive  and  the  time  had  come  for  them 
to  be  repealed  and  new  and  better  laws  enacted. 
As  Moses  had  been  the  mouthpiece  of  God  dur- 
ing his  administration,  through  whom  laws  were 
laid  down  for  the  Hebrews  and  the  priesthood 
under  the  Aaronic  rules,  Jesus  in  turn  became 
the  instrument  in  laying  down  new  rules  and  bet- 
ter laws  than  the  old. 

The  only  way  Jesus  had  of  reaching  the  minds 
of  the  people  as  to  a  change  of  the  old  for  the 
new  was  to  give  them  object  lessons ;  to  that  end, 
after  he  had  concluded  his  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
he  came  down  and  commenced  his  ministry  with 
the  people,  and  the  first  thing  he  did  was  to  speak 
to  them  as  follows : 

"  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are 
heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest.  Take  my 
yoke  upon  you  and  learn  of  me ;  for  I  am  meek 


258     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

and  lowly  in  heart;  and  ye  shall  find  rest  unto 
your  soul.  For  my  yoke  is  easy  and  my  burden 
is  light."  "  And  at  that  time  Jesus  went  on  the 
Sabbath  day  through  the  corn,  and  his  disciples 
were  anhungered  and  began  to  pluck  the  ears  of 
corn,  and  to  eat.  But  when  the  Pharisees  saw  it, 
they  said  unto  him,  Behold,  thy  disciples  do  that 
which  is  not  lawful  to  do  upon  the  Sabbath  day. 
But  he  said  unto  them,  Have  ye  not  read  what 
David  did  when  he  was  anhungered,  and  they  that 
were  with  him ;  how  he  entered  into  the  house  of 
God,  and  did  eat  the  shewbread,  which  was  not 
lawful  for  him  to  eat,  neither  for  them  which  were 
with  him,  but  only  for  the  priests?  Or  have  ye 
not  read  in  the  law,  how  that  on  the  Sabbath  days 
the  priests  in  the  temple  profaned  the  Sabbath, 
and  are  blameless?  "     Matt.  xi.  28;  xii.  5. 

Mark  in  giving  his  version  of  this  incident  says, 
"  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  he  went  through  the 
cornfield  on  the  Sabbath  day ;  and  his  disciples 
began  as  they  went  to  pluck  the  ears  of  corn. 
And  the  Pharisees  said  unto  him.  Behold, 
why  do  they  on  the  Sabbath  day  that  which  is 
not    lawful? And    he    said    unto    them, 

THE     SABBATH     WAS     MADE     FOR     MAN     AND     NOT 

MAN  FOE  THE  SABBATH."  Mark  ii.  23,  24, 
27. 

It  was  also  unlawful  to  heal  the  sick  on  the 
Sabbath  day  unless  it  was  to  save  life.  "  And 
behold  there  was  a  man  which  had  his  hand  with- 
ered.    And  they  asked  him,  saying.  Is  it  lawful 


PREACHING  AND  HEALING       259 

to  heal  on  the  Sabbath  days?  that  they  might  ac- 
cuse him.  And  he  said  unto  them,  What  man 
shaE  there  be  among  you,  that  shall  have  one 
sheep,  and  if  it  fall  into  a  pit  on  the  Sabbath  day 
will  he  not  lay  hold  on  it  and  lift  it  out?  How 
much  then  is  a  man  better  than  a  sheep  ?  Where- 
fore it  is  lawful  to  do  well  on  the  Sabbath  days. 
Then  saith  he  to  the  man.  Stretch  forth  thine 
hand.  And  he  stretched  it  forth ;  and  it  was  re- 
stored whole  like  as  the  other."     Matt.  xii.  10-13. 

Following  the  subject  up  a  little  further  we  will 
find  what  Paul  said  of  the  Sabbath  days  and  of 
sumptuary  laws.  "  Him  that  is  weak  in  the  faith 
receive  ye,  but  not  to  doubtful  disputations.  For 
one  believeth  that  he  may  eat  all  things ;  another 
who  is  weak  eateth  herbs.  Let  not  him  that  eateth 
despise  him  that  eateth  not ;  and  let  not  him  which 
eateth  not  judge  him  that  eateth;  for  God  hath 
received  him.  Who  art  thou  that  judgest  an- 
other man's  servant?  to  his  own  master  he  stand- 
eth  or  f alleth.  Yea,  he  shall  be  holden  up ;  for 
God  is  able  to  make  him  stand.  One  man  esteem- 
eth  one  day  above  another;  another  esteemeth 
every  day  alike.  Let  every  man  be  fully  per- 
suaded in  his  own  mind."  Romans  xiv.  1-5.  And 
in  his  letter  to  the  Colossians  Paul  said,  "  Let  no 
man  therefore  judge  you  in  meat,  or  in  drink,  or 
in  respect  of  an  holy  day,  or  of  the  new  moon,  or 
of  the  Sabbath  days."     Colossians  ii.  16. 

The  Sabbath  day  was  regarded  by  the  Jews  as 
a  sacred  day  and  observed  as  holy  in  commem- 


260     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

oration  of  the  time  when  God  rested  from  his  work 
of  creation  on  the  seventh  day.  The  Christians 
were  instructed  to  disregard  the  seventh  day  and 
in  its  stead  they  were  instructed  to  observe  the 
first  day  of  the  week  in  commemoration  of  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus. 

From  Eusebius  we  have  the  authority  to  believe 
that  as  long  as  the  Jewish  Christians  held  a  con- 
siderable power  in  the  church  they  exercised 
their  influence  to  observe  both  the  Sabbath  and 
Sunday  as  sacred  days.  As  expressed  in  the 
Apostolic  Constitutions  (vol.  8,  33),  it  was  pro- 
vided for  as  follows :  "  Let  the  slaves  work  five 
days,  but  on  the  Sabbath  and  the  Lord's  day  let 
them  have  leisure  to  go  to  church  for  instruction 
and  piety." 

But  the  powers  of  the  church  were  determined 
to  show  their  disregard  of  the  old  Jewish  customs, 
and  to  that  end  church  council  after  council  passed 
orders,  decrees  and  rules  expressive  of  their  dis- 
regard of  the  Sabbath.  The  first  authoritative 
step  toward  making  the  first  day  of  the  week  in- 
stead of  the  seventh  a  holy  day  was  taken  by 
Constantine  in  the  year  321,  when  he  issued  an 
imperial  decree  that  all  courts  of  justice,  inhab- 
itants of  towns,  and  workshops  were  to  be  at  rest 
on  Sunday,  with  the  exception  of  those  engaged 
in  agricultural  labor. 

This  was  the  first  bold  stroke  following  up  the 
doctrines  of  both  Jesus  and  Paul,  toward  annul- 
ling the  sacredness  of  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  and  the 


PREACHING  AND  HEALING       261 

first  enjoining  Sunday  as  a  holy  day.  Therefore 
Sunday  cannot  be  binding  on  the  people  as  a  di- 
vine institution.  If  Saturday  or  the  Jewish  Sab- 
bath is  a  binding  law  of  God  and  the  people 
are  under  obligations  to  observe  it,  then  no  one 
has  the  power  to  altar  it  in  any  respect  and  he 
who  picks  up  a  stick  on  Saturday  deserves  the 
penalty  of  death.  While  this  extreme  is  absurd 
so  we  might  say  of  the  law  authorizing  such  pen- 
alties. 

Many  decrees  followed  the  one  first  sent  out 
by  Constantine,  excusing  Christians  from  observ- 
ing the  Sabbath  day. 

In  the  year  363,  at  the  council  of  Laodicea, 
Canon  No.  29  was  enacted,  which  forbade 
Christians  from  Judaizing  and  resting  on  the  Sab- 
bath day  and  actually  enjoined  them  to  work  on 
that  day.  That  council  seemed  to  be  determined 
to  wipe  out  all  Sabbatarian  obligations  for  Chris- 
tians, and  as  a  result  Saturday  has  never  been 
recognized  by  any  considerable  body  of  the  Chris- 
tian people. 

There  are  many  false  teachings  imposed  on 
people  as  having  come  from  Jesus,  the  Apostles, 
or  the  New  Testament.  While  some  of  them  are 
good  and  wholesome  doctrines  for  the  betterment 
of  society,  they  ought  to  be  presented  in  their 
true  light  and  given  out-  as  doctrines  of  the 
church,  that  they  may  leave  no  false  impressions 
on  the  minds  of  the  masses ;  for  when  a  thing  is 
once  found  out  to  be  false  in  its  conception  the 


262     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

people  lose  respect  for  it  though  it  is  good  within 
itself,  and  would  have  paid  due  respect  to  it  had 
it  been  presented  in  its  real  origin.  Among  some 
of  the  false  presentations  of  the  church  is  "Sun- 
day." Sunday  is  not  mentioned  in  the  New 
Testament,  and  it  is  not  a  New  Testament  or 
Apostolic  institution. 

On  account  of  early  prejudices,  and  a  strong 
desire  among  the  Christians  to  show  their  dis- 
regard of  the  Jewish  institutions,  decree  after  de- 
cree was  made  impressing  the  importance  on  the 
minds  of  the  Christian  people  of  keeping  Sunday 
as  a  holy  day,  and  not  Saturday.  In  the  year 
425,  Theodosius  II  ordered  all  games  and  theatri- 
cal exhibitions  suspended-  on  Sunday.  At  the 
third  council  of  Orleans  in  the  year  538,  all  kinds 
of  labor  were  forbidden  on  Sunday.  But  in  all 
those  orders  and  decrees  there  was  no  divine  au- 
thority for  making  and  distinguishing  any  day 
of  the  week  a  holy  day. 

In  that  broad  sense,  as  before  quoted,  both 
Jesus  and  Paul  viewed  the  question,  and  no  one 
has  the  authority  to  substitute  Sunday  for  Sat- 
urday, or  make  a  day  holy  when  they  decreed 
them  all  alike.  There  is  a  tendency  among  cer- 
tain theologians  to  make  Christian  religion  for 
themselves ;  the  teachings  of  Jesus  are  not  quite 
good  enough  for  them ;  they  want  to  improve  on 
them;  to  that  import  they  desire  to  build  up  a 
Sunday  law  of  their  own.  There  is  a  tendency 
among  them  to  come  to  an  understanding  and 


PREACHING  AND  HEALING      263 

unitize  in  one  strong  battle  against  the  liberties 
of  the  people  by  uniting  church  and  state  that 
the  church  may  dictate  to  our  courts,  law  makers, 
and  officers,  as  to  what  the  people  shall  and  shall 
not  do  on  Sunday. 

The  "  Lord's  day  "  is  also  an  idea  of  later  day 
conception.  The  Lord  never  had  a  day.  There 
is  but  one  place  in  the  New  Testament  where  the 
"  Lord's  day  "  is  mentioned  and  that  is  in  Rev.  i. 
10,  in  which  John  says,  "  I  was  in  the  spirit  in 
the  Lord's  day  and  heard  behind  me  a  great  voice 
as  of  a  trumpet."  As  a  hygienic  measure  it  is 
proper  to  hold  one  day  in  seven  as  a  rest  day, 
and  there  is  no  better  day  than  Sunday,  but  it 
should  not  be  enforced  as  a  part  of  religion,  or  to 
favor  any  religious  order  or  conception.  Such 
an  attempt  would  be  in  direct  violation  of  the 
constitution  of  the  United  States.  The  first 
amendment  to  our  constitution  says,  "  Congress 
shall  pass  no  law  respecting  the  establishment  of 
religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof," 
This  law  has  always  been  a  stumbling  block  to 
the  over-zealous  who  desire  the  union  of  church 
and  state,  but  it  is  to  be  hoped  they  will  never 
succeed,  for  when  that  is  done  the  liberties  of  the 
people  will  go  with  it,  if  the  history  of  the  past 
gives  any  clue  to  the  events  of  the  future. 

It  seems  a  little  strange  that  any  law  should 
have  the  respect  of  the  people  which  would  make 
a  commendable  act  lawful  on  one  day  and  a  crime 
on  the  next  day.     As  long  as  a  person  does  not 


264     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

encroach  on  the  personal  rights  of  another,  all 
days  should  be  open  to  his  use  as  he  desires. 

JESUS   THE   CONQUEROR 

Within  the  range  of  human  effort  there  have 
been  and  are  now  great  conquests  and  great 
triumphs  in  life.  Those  conquerors  have  made 
themselves  felt  in  every  department  of  human 
affairs.  Some  have  hewn  their  way  to  glory  and 
renown  and  placed  their  names  on  the  pedestal 
of  honor  through  the  sword,  others  by  the  force 
of  intellect  in  the  moral,  religious,  scientific,  and 
civil  concerns  of  men. 

There  have  been  many  great  conquerors  of  in- 
tellect who  have  made  their  names  immortal; 
among  them  stands  prominently  the  name  of 
Moses,  author  of  the  Decalogue  and  the  laws  of 
the  Israelitish  nation.  The  name  of  Copernicus 
is  so  associated  with  the  science  of  astronomy  and 
knowledge  of  our  planetary  system  that  as  long 
as  the  one  is  regarded  as  a  true  science,  the  other 
will  be  remembered.  Of  all  the  great  conquerors 
in  the  domain  of  intellect,  who  stands  higher  than 
Sir  Isaac  Newton.''  His  "  Principia,"  though  ac- 
cepted by  but  few  thinkers  for  forty  years  after 
its  first  publication,  is  yet  the  final  thought  on  mo- 
tion in  free  space ;  of  resisted  motion  and  the  sys- 
tem of  the  world.  Dr.  Franklin  with  a  kite  and 
small  cord  caught  the  lurid  lightning  and  con- 
quered its  waywardness  and  now  electricity  is  our 
common  servant  in  the  utilities  of  life.     Victors 


PREACHING  AND  HEALING       265 

in  practical  philosophy  are  now  innumerable  and 
nature  yields  its  mysteries  to  the  all-conquering 
intellect  of  man  to  such  a  degree  that  the  forces 
of  the  universe  are  but  toying  instruments  in  its 
grasp. 

Eloquence  has  ever  been  the  vehicle  of  sublime 
thought,  from  the  flights  of  Job,  the  raptures  of 
the  Psalmist,  and  the  philippics  of  Demosthenes 
to  the  beauty  of  Paine,  the  flights  of  Cla}^,  the 
pathos  of  Spurgeon,  the  grace  of  Beecher,  and 
the  fiery  logic  of  Lincoln  and  countless  others. 
The  tongue  has  its  glories,  but  no  less  has  the 
pen,  when  used  for  the  flow  of  descriptive  history 
by  Herodotus ;  or  to  express  the  sweetest  simplic- 
ity in  the  Anabasis  of  Xenophon. 

But  among  the  many  leaders  we  must  not  over- 
look that  man  who  was  great  in  every  thought  and 
action.  As  a  soldier  none  casts  a  shade  upon 
his  name,  save  Napoleon  ;  as  a  statesman,  the  high- 
est rank  is  conceded  to  him ;  as  an  orator  Cicero 
only  could  reach  a  higher  flight.  He  reformed 
the  calendar,  and  as  an  author  he  sheathed  his 
sword  at  the  close  of  battle  and  wrote  the  mem- 
oirs of  his  own  life  at  night.  Who  is  referred  to 
but  Caius  Julius  Csesar?  Grant  alone  is  to  be 
compared  with  him  as  a  soldier  and  author.  The 
pen  of  Gibbon  embellished  Rome  in  her  glory  and 
uncovered  her  shame  in  her  fall.  England  had 
her  Hume  and  Macaulay,  her  sweet  singing  bards, 
her  Darwin  and  Huxley.  France  had  her  Gui- 
zot,  her  Victor  Hugo,  and  her  inimitable  Voltaire. 


^66    LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

The  United  States  has  a  list  of  conquering  pens 
in  her  many  periodicals,  directing  the  minds  of 
statesmen,  molding  the  sentiments  of  the  people 
along  the  line  of  patriotic  devotion  to  the  princi- 
ples of  self-government,  domestic  purity,  eleva- 
tion of  society,  and  the  cultivation  of  moral  recti- 
tude. Of  the  great  authors  of  the  United  States 
we  cannot  speak  in  detail.  While  America  is 
young  in  the  sisterhood  of  nations,  her  sons  lead 
the  world  in  the  practical  development  of  the  util- 
ities of  life  and  in  the  elucidation  of  man's  obli- 
gations to  man  for  the  amity  of  the  world. 

But  there  is  one  conqueror  who  stands  alone, 
above  them  all ;  who  has  conquered  riches  with 
poverty,  pride  with"  humility,  ostentation  with 
meekness,  hate  with  love.  He  succored  the  weak 
and  suppressed  the  strong,  reproved  the  tyrant 
and  sympathized  with  the  oppressed.  The  wails 
of  woe  found  pity  in  his  heart.  He  was  the  per- 
sonification of  goodness,  kindness.  He  was  by 
nature  as  tender  of  heart  as  a  pure  woman.  He 
was  a  hero  in  fortitude  and  a  great  warrior  in  the 
battles  of  right  against  wrong.  He  was  a  con- 
queror of  the  passions  of  the  body  and  a  director 
of  the  intellect  to  the  highest  standard  of  men's 
duties  one  to  another.  The  sick  of  body,  soul, 
and  mind  were  of  his  charge.  He  had  a  deep 
concern  for  the  afflictions  of  the  world,  and  in 
ministering  to  them  forgot  himself.  And  finally 
he  transformed  the  dreaded  king  of  death  into  a 
white-winged  angel  of  peace  which  kisses  the  eye- 


PREACHING  AND  HEALING       267 

lids  down  upon  this  world  that  they  may  open 
again  on  a  better  and  brighter  one,  and  made  the 
soul  sing  the  immortal  song  of  jo}',  "  Oh,  Death, 
where  is  thy  sting?  Oh,  Grave,  where  is  thy  vic- 
tory?" This  was  the  conqueror  Jesus  whose 
words  of  truth  pierced  the  hearts  of  men  with  the 
barbs  of  love  and  led  them  from  the  trammels  of 
sin  to  the  glories  of  righteousness,  in  mercy,  char- 
ity and  good  will  toward  men. 

Jesus,  with  boundless  love  and  forgiving  spirit, 
carried  his  own  cross  to  the  place  of  crucifixion 
and  with  calmness  he  met  the  frowns  of  scorn, 
with  love  he  answered  the  shafts  of  hate,  and  as 
the  cruel  spear  entered  his  blessed  side  and  they 
could  do  no  more,  he  uttered  the  grandest  praj^er 
that  ever  ascended  to  the  throne  of  God: 
"  Father,  forgive  them,  they  know  not  what  they 
do."  What  a  triumph !  What  a  victory !  What 
a  conqueror! 


VII 

THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS 

It  is  not  the  fault  of  the  New  Testament,  nor 
of  the  true  teachings  of  Jesus  that  disbehef  and 
infideHty  stalk  abroad  in  the  land ;  it  is  because 
of  what  those  who  presume  to  be  teachers  set 
forth  in  their  creeds  and  dogmas  as  the  true  mis- 
sion of  the  master.  The  dogma  that  Jesus  will 
save  in  the  next  world  those  who  are  unfit  to  live 
in  this  is  so  pernicious  in  its  tendencies  that  good 
sense  revolts  against  it  and  doubters  arise.  There 
is  nothing  in  the  four  Gospels  that  teaches  such 
a  doctrine. 

The  mission  of  Jesus  was  to  save  people  from 
their  sins,  not  in  their  sins.  When  a  sin  is  once 
committed  it  is  for  eternity  and  can  only  be 
purged  away  by  repentance  and  by  the  undoing 
of  the  wrong  by  the  guilty  one  as  far  as  it  is 
possible  to  do  so. 

The  true  meaning  of  the  word  sin  when  applied 
in  a  theological  sense  is  "  a  violation  of  a  moral 
obligation  to  God."  According  to  that  a  sinner 
may  be  forgiven  at  any  time  by  the  mere  asking. 
But  Jesus  did  not  come  into  the  world  to  deal  with 
sin  in  that  sense.  He  came  to  guide  people  in 
the  way  of  right  living  in  this  world,  that  they 
might  inherit  a  better  condition  in  the  next.  The 
268 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  269 

belief  that  the  murderer  can  be  saved  from  the 
spiritual  results  of  his  crime  by  a  little  lip  service 
on  the  gallows,  or  after  the  crime  is  committed, 
by  the  confession  of  a  belief  in  Jesus,  is  not  only 
absurd  but  it  is  corrupting  in  the  extreme.  This 
is  the  kind  of  doctrine  that  breeds  infidelity. 

When  Jesus  came  to  the  world,  it  was  corrupted 
by  all  kinds  of  evil  thoughts  and  deeds.  To  save, 
or  keep,  the  people  from  those  damaging  and 
corrupting  influences,  he  dedicated  his  life.  He 
desired  to  lead  them  into  the  way  of  right  living 
here,  that  they  might  be  saved  from  the  results  of 
wrongdoing,  both  here  and  there. 

"  We  came  into  this  world  naked  and  bare ; 
We  soon  will  go  hence,  but  don't  know  where; 
If  we  do  all  right  here,  we'll  be  all  right  there." 

When  the  angel  came  to  Joseph  in  a  dream  he 
said,  "Fear  not  to  take  unto  thee  Mary,  thy 
wife,  for  that  which  is  conceived  in  her  is  of  the 
Holy  Ghost ;  and  she  shall  bring  forth  a  son,  and 
thou  shalt  call  his  name  Jesus ;  for  it  is  he  that 
shall  save  his  people  from  their  sins."  Matt.  i. 
20,  21.  That  promise  applies  to  this  life.  It 
does  not  hold  out  a  saving  clause  for  the  next. 
In  considering  the  meaning  of  much  of  the  New 
Testament,  we  must  take  the  fact  as  attempted 
to  be  taught,  rather  than  the  literal  meaning  of 
the  words  used,  because  Jesus  was  compelled  to 
use  the  language  best  understood  by  those  he  was 


270     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

talking  to  at  the  time.  At  the  death  of  each 
person,  there  will  be  messengers  from  the  other 
side  to  receive  him  according  to  the  merits  of  his 
life,  some  to  life  everlasting,  some  to  the  gloom 
they  deserve.  The  following  is  rather  a  play 
upon  words,  but  it  has  a  significance  which,  if 
rightly  understood,  will  prove  of  value  to  us. 
Jesus  in  speaking  to  his  disciples  concerning  his 
own  death  said,  "  If  any  man  will  come  after  me, 
let  him  deny  himself,  and  take  up  his  cross,  and 
follow  me.  For  whosoever  shall  save  his  life  shall 
lose  it;  and  whosoever  will  lose  his  life  for  my 
sake  shall  find  it.  For  what  is  a  man  profited,  if 
he  shall  gain  the  whole  world  and  forfeit  his  own 
soul?  Or  what  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange  for 
his  soul?  For  the  Son  of  man  shall  come  in 
the   glory   of  his   Father  with   his   angels ;   and 

THEN  HE  SHALL  RENDER  UNTO  EVERY  MAN 
ACCORDING  TO  HIS  DEEDS.  Matt.  Xvi.  24— 
27. 

Paul  was  also  a  savior  to  the  extent  of  his 
ability.  He  says,  "  To  the  Jews  I  became  as  a 
Jew,  that  I  might  gain  Jews ;  to  them  that  are 
under  the  law,  as  under  the  law,  that  I  might  gain 
them  that  are  under  the  law;  to  them  that  are 
without  law,  as  without  law,  that  I  might  gain 
them  that  are  without  law.  To  the  weak  became  I 
weak  that  I  might  gain  the  weak ;  I  am  become  all 
things  to  all  men,  that  I  may  by  all  means  save 
some."  I.  Cor.  ix.  20-23.  "  Ye  know  this,  my 
beloved  brethren.     Let  every  man  be  swift  to  hear, 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  271 

slow  to  speak,  slow  to  wrath;  for  the  wrath  of 
man  worketh  not  the  righteousness  of  God. 
Wherefore  putting  away  all  filthiness  and  over- 
flowing of  wickedness,  receive  with  meekness  the 
implanted  word,  which  is  able  to  save  your  souls." 
James  i.  19-21. 

"It  is  better  that  ye  suffer  for  well-doing 
than  for  evil  doing.  Because  Christ  also  suffered 
for  sins  once,  the  righteous  for  the  unrighteous, 
that  he  might  bring  us  to  God;  being  put  to 
death  in  the  flesh,  but  made  alive  in  the  spirit ;  in 
which  also  he  went  and  preached  unto  the  spirits 
in  prison,  that  aforetime  were  disobedient,  when 
the  long  suffering  of  God  waited  in  the  days  of 
Noah,  while  the  ark  was  a  preparing,  wherein 
few,  that  is,  eight  souls,  were  saved  through 
water;  which  also  after  a  true  likeness  doth  now 
save  you."     I.  Peter  iii.  17-21. 

And  Jesus  after  his  ascension,  according  to 
the  above  text,  "  went  and  preached  to  the  spirits 
in  prison."  To  my  mind,  with  our  present  edu- 
cation, this  is  the  most  important  text  in  the 
whole  Bible;  for  it  most  emphatically  informs 
us  that  in  the  other  life  some  go  to  perfection  in 
the  glory  of  God  and  others  to  their  rewards  ac- 
cording to  their  conduct  in  the  flesh-life.  There 
were  spirits  in  prison  that  had  been  confined  since 
the  days  of  Noah,  which  Jesus  desired  to  en- 
lighten by  preaching  to  them. 

The  following  text  is  familiar  to  all  but  I  have 
seldom  heard  the  latter  part  explained  in  the  way 


n%     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

it  deserves.  "  For  God  so  loved  the  world,  that 
he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  Avhosoever  be- 
lieveth  on  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal 
life.  For  God  sent  not  his  Son  into  the  world  to 
judge  the  world;  but  that  the  world  should  be 
saved  through  him.  He  that  believeth  on  him  is 
not  judged;  he  that  believeth  not  hath  been 
judged  alread}^,  because  he  hath  not  believed  on 
the  name  of  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God. 
And    this    is    the   judgment,    that    the    light 

IS  COME  INTO  the  WORLD,  AND  MEN  LOVED 
THE       DARKNESS       RATHER       THAN       THE       LIGHT; 

FOR  THEIR  WORKS  WERE  E^saL.  For  cvei'y 
one  that  doeth  evil  hateth  the  light,  and 
Cometh  not  to  the  light,  lest  his  works  should 
be  reproved.  But  he  that  doeth  the  truth 
Cometh  to  the  light,  that  his  works  may  be  made 
manifest,  that  they  have  been  wrought  in  God." 
John  iii.  16-21. 

There  are  some  difficult  sayings  in  the  New 
Testament  as  well  as  in  the  Old  Bible.  The  last 
instructions  that  Jesus  gave  to  his  disciples  be- 
fore he  took  his  final  leave  of  the  earth,  are  diffi- 
cult of  comprehension,  and  they  may  possibly  be 
but  the  extravagant  expressions  of  John ;  for 
there  must  be  many  things  that  Jesus  both  did  and 
said  that  are  not  recorded  in  the  Gospels.  And 
in  as  much  as  the  Gospels  were  not  written  until 
many  years  after  the  crucifixion  faulty  memory 
of  expression  may  be  the  cause  of  many  errors. 
But  had  there  never  been  one  word  written  of 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  273 

Jesus  the  great  crowning  facts  of  his  life  are  so 
intenvoven  in  our  natures  we  would  be  forced  to 
a  belief  in  them  whether  they  were  given  in  de- 
tail or  not.  For  all  men  believe  in  the  principles 
of  doing  right,  and  believe  by  doing  right  they 
are  saved,  not  only  from  the  penalties  of  the  law, 
but  from  conscientious  shame  and  the  contumely 
of  the  public.  Hope  of  a  future  life  and  a  crown- 
ing conviction  thereof  are  held  by  the  most  of 
men.  Jesus  only  came  to  bring  proof  of  what 
men  already  believed  or  hoped  for. 

"  All  Israel  shall  be  saved,"  was  the  declaration 
of  Paul.  "  There  shall  come  out  of  Zion  the  De- 
liverer, he  shall  turn  away  ungodliness  for  Jacob." 
Romans  xi.  26.  "For  the  time  is  come  for  judg- 
ment to  begin  at  the  house  of  God:  and  if  it 
begin  first  at  us,  what  shall  be  the  end  of  them 
that  obey  not  the  Gospel  of  God.?  And  if  the 
righteous  is  scarcely  saved,  where  shall  the  un- 
godly and  sinner  appear.''  Wherefore  let  them 
also  that  suffer  according  to  the  evil  of  God  com- 
mit their  souls  in  well-doing  unto  a  faithful  Crea- 
ator."     I.  Peter  iv.  17-19. 

Salvation  does  not  depend  upon  what  a  man 
believes,  but  on  the  life  a  man  lives.  This  Jesus 
taught,  as  is  plainly  seen  in  the  case  of  Zac- 
chaeus.  Passing  through  Jerico,  a  certain  Pub- 
lican named  Zacchaeus  wished  to  see  Jesus,  and 
being  short  of  stature  he  climbed  a  sycamore  tree. 
"  When  Jesus  came  to  the  place  he  looked  up 
and  said  unto  him,  Zacchaeus,  make  haste   and 


^74    LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

come  down,  for  I  to-day  must  abide  at  thy 
house.  And  he  made  haste,  and  came  down  and 
received  him  joyfully.  And  when  they  saw  it, 
they  all  murmured  saying,  He  is  gone  in  to 
lodge  with  a  man  that  is  a  sinner.  And  Zac- 
chaeus  stood,  and  said  unto  the  Lord,  Behold, 
Lord,  the  half  of  my  goods  I  give  to  the  poor; 
and  if  I  have  wrongfully  exacted  aught  of  any 
man,  I  restore  fourfold.  And  Jesus  said  unto 
him,  To-day  is  salvation  come  to  this  house,  for 
also  he  is  a  son  of  Abraham.  For  the  Son  of 
man  came  to  seek  and  save  that  which  was  lost." 
Luke  xix.  1—10.  That  quotation  contains  a  point 
worthy  of  notice.  If  one  desires  to  serve  Jesus, 
he  must  seek  him ;  or  in  other  words  if  one  desires 
to  do  right  he  must  make  some  effort  of  his  own. 
He  must  strive  to  do  good  and  he  must  not  only 
do  good,  but  must  be  charitable  and  kind  to  the 
poor  and  dependent,  and  if  he  wrongs  another, 
restore  unto  him;  but  add  to  it  good  usury. 
When  that  is  done  salvation  will  come  to  his 
house. 

Where  is  heaven?  Where  is  man  to  receive  his 
salvation.?  Where  is  the  kingdom  of  God?  Peo- 
ple generally  look  upon  heaven  as  a  place  some- 
where beyond  the  skies,  and  look  for  happiness 
there  after  death,  but  that  is  a  wrong  idea. 
Heaven  is  a  condition  rather  than  a  place.  A 
soul  may  be  miserable  and  yet  reside  on  the  other 
side  of  the  tomb.  Being  asked  by  the  Pharisees 
when  the  kingdom  of  God  cometh,  Jesus  answered 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  275 

them  and  said,  "  The  kingdom  of  God  cometh 
not  with  observation ;  neither  shall  they  say,  Lo, 
here,  or,  there !  for  lo,  the  kingdom  of  God  is 
within  you."  Luke  xvii.  20,  21.  "A  certain 
ruler  asked  Jesus  saying.  Good  Master,  what  shall 
I  do  to  inherit  eternal  life?  And  Jesus  said  unto 
him.  Why  callest  thou  me  good.^^  None  is  good, 
save  one,  even  God.  Thou  knowest  the  command- 
ments: Do  not  commit  adultery.  Do  not  kill. 
Do  not  steal.  Do  not  bear  false  witness.  Honor 
thy  father  and  mother.  And  the  rich  man  said, 
All  these  things  have  I  observed  from  my  youth 
up.  And  when  Jesus  heard  it,  he  said  unto  him. 
One  thing  thou  lackest  yet ;  sell  all  that  thou  hast 
and  distribute  unto  the  poor,  and  thou  shalt  have 
treasure  in  heaven."  Luke  xviii.  21,  22.  Salva- 
tion, according  to  John's  teaching,  also  consists 
in  doing  good  to  our  fellow  men.  When  he  was 
preaching  and  baptizing  and  prophesying  the 
multitude  asked  him  what  they  must  do  and  he 
said,  "  He  that  hath  two  coats  let  him  impart 
to  him  that  hath  none ;  and  he  that  hath  food,  let 
him  do  likewise.  And  there  came  Publicans  to 
be  baptized  and  they  said  upto  him.  Master  what 
must  we  do?  And  he  said  unto  them.  Extort  no 
more  than  that  which  is  appointed  you.  And 
soldiers  also  asked  him  saying,  And  we,  what 
must  we  do  ?  And  he  said  unto  them,  Extort  from 
no  man  by  violence,  neither  accuse  any  one  wrong- 
fully, and  be  content  with  your  wages."  Luke  iii. 
10-15. 


276    LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

The  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  tried  in  every  way 
to  confound  Jesus  and  make  him  either  ridiculous, 
or  a  false  teacher,  ignorant  of  the  law.  Concern- 
ing the  resurrection,  they  were  very  curious  to 
know  whose  wife  a  woman  would  be  who  had  had 
seven  husbands.  Jesus  answered  them,  "  When 
they  arise  from  the  dead  they  are  neither  married 
nor  given  in  marriage;  but  are  as  angels  in 
heaven.  But  as  touching  the  dead,  that  they  are 
raised ;  have  ye  not  read  in  the  book  of  Moses, 
in  the  place  concerning  the  Bush,  how  God  spake 
unto  him  saying,  I  am  the  God  of  Abraham,  and 
the  God  of  Isaac  and  the  god  of  Jacob.?  He  is 
not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the  living ;  ye  do 
greatly  err."  Mark  xii.  26,  27.  That  means 
God's  law  and  government  are  of  this  hfe,  which 
is  the  preparatory  state,  molding  the  condition 
of  the  next. 

In  all  the  instructions  of  Jesus,  there  is  noth- 
ing more  comprehensive  than  those  teachings  con- 
tained in  his  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  While  there 
are  some  things  in  it  that  may  seem  unsuited  to 
our  state  of  civilization  and  education,  yet  it  is 
one  of  the  grandest  sermons  ever  dropped  from 
the  lips  of  man.  His  blessings  were  of  a  soothing 
and  peaceful  nature  which  could  come  from  no 
other  than  a  kind  heart.  Blessed  are  the  poor  in 
spirit,  blessed  are  the  meek,  blessed  are  they  that 
hunger  and  thirst  for  righteousness,  blessed  are 
the  merciful,  blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  blessed 
are  the  peacemakers  and  blessed  are  they  who  are 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  277 

persecuted  for  righteousness'  sake  for  theirs  is 
the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Blessed  are  ye  when  men 
shall  reproach  you  and  persecute  you  and  say 
all  manner  of  evil  against  you  falsely,  for  my 
sake,  for  great  is  your  reward  in  heaven.  In 
speaking  of  the  disciples  he  said,  "Ye  are  the  salt 
of  the  earth  and  ye  are  the  light  of  the  world ; 
let  your  light  shine  before  men  that  they  may 
see  your  good  works  and  glorify  your  Father 
which  is  in  heaven."  Jesus  said,  "Think  not  that 
I  came  to  destroy  the  law ;  I  came  not  to  destroy, 
but  to  fulfill."  He  enjoined  on  all  an  observance 
of  the  law ;  but  "Unless  your  righteousness  ex- 
ceeds that  of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall 
in  no  wise  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  We 
are  instructed  not  to  kill,  not  to  be  angry  with  our 
brothers,  or  call  them  bad  names.  If  your  broth- 
er has  anything  against  you,  go  and  see  him  and 
have  the  difference  reconciled  between  you ;  if  you 
cannot  come  to  an  understanding,  call  in  some  one 
else  as  an  arbiter  and  let  it  be  settled  that  way. 
That  is  good  and  salutary  advice,  and,  if  fol- 
lowed, most  of  the  disputes  of  the  world  would  be 
avoided ;  even  nations  would  save  much  blood  and 
much  treasure  by  resorting  to  arbitration  instead 
of  to  arms. 

Women  in  those  days  were  mere  vassals  of  their 
husbands.  They  could  be  thrown  out  at  any  time 
for  any  cause  and  a  man  could  have  as  many 
wives  as  he  wished,  with  no  offense  to  the  law. 
With  all  of  this,  Jesus  taught  purity  between  the 


278    LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

sexes  and  denied  any  man  the  right  to  put  away 
his  wife  for  any  other  cause  than  that  of  forni- 
cation, and  then  he  should  give  her  a  written 
divorcement.  "If  thy  right  eye  cause  thee  to 
stumble,  pluck  it  out  and  cast  it  from  thee.  If 
thy  right  hand  causeth  thee  to  offend,  cut  it  off 
and  cast  it  from  thee."  That  is  to  say,  in  the 
practice  of  life,  cut  out  everything  that  causes 
you  to  do  wrong ;  let  nothing  stand  between  you 
and  right  living  according  to  the  highest  prin- 
ciples of  society,  morals,  and  health. 

He  condemns  profanity  in  all  its  forms. 
"Swear  not  by  heaven,  for  it  is  the  throne  of  God; 
nor  by  the  earth,  for  it  is  the  footstool  of  His 
feet ;  nor  by  the  holy  city  of  Jerusalem ;  nor  by 
your  head,  or  in  any  other  form.  Resist  evil 
in  all  of  its  forms.  If  any  man  smite  thee  on  one 
cheek,  turn  the  other."  This  is  figurative  speech, 
of  course ;  we  must  not  be  pugilistic ;  but  the 
first  blow  must  be  quite  light  for  an  ordinary  man 
to  turn  the  other  cheek  for  a  similar  smite;  for  a 
hard  blow  would  require  a  parry,  at  least.  The 
import  of  this  lesson  must  be  to  turn  our  backs 
from  insults,  assaults  and  personal  altercations. 
To  turn  your  back  upon  an  aggressor  in  a  per- 
sonal altercation  requires  more  bravery  than  to 
bristle  up  for  a  fight.  It  does  not  require  much 
fortitude  to  strike  back  when  one  is  hit,  but  it 
does  require  fortitude  to  turn  away  and  walk  off; 
nevertheless  this  is  what  a  man  should  do. 

Do  not  go  to  law  with  j'our  neighbor ;  you  had 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  279 

better  give  him  your  coat,  that  is,  what  he  con- 
tends for,  rather  than  to  resort  to  the  arbitrament 
of  the  law,  which  is  expensive,  vexatious  and  un- 
satisfactory. If  you  should  win  the  suit,  you 
would  be  the  loser  in  the  end. 

"Love  your  enemies,"  seems  to  be  rather  a 
hard  command  to  obey,  but  at  the  same  time  it 
is  the  only  way  to  do.  If  you  desire  to  be  happy, 
entertain  no  hard  feelings  toward  any  one ;  have 
a  friendly  feeling  for  the  whole  world,  and  if  you 
follow  in  that  line  of  conduct,  you  will  have 
no  enemy  to  hate.  Good-will  to  all  is  health,  hap- 
piness, and  serenity  of  life ;  ill-will  is  poison,  dis- 
ease, discomfiture,  and  enmity  to  all  that  is  good, 
noble,  and  brave,  in  a  true  life.  It  wears  wrin- 
kles on  the  brow,  scowls  the  face,  ensavages  the 
cast  of  the  eye,  and  clothes  the  face  with  a  frown 
that  engenders  hate  in  others.  Good  nature 
brightens  the  countenance,  smooths  the  brow, 
washes  out  the  wrinkles  from  the  face,  softens 
the  heart,  and  makes  all  men  love  you.  That  is 
the  meaning  of  this  command  of  Jesus,  to  "  love 
your  enemies."  Be  charitable,  but  do  not  your 
alms  before  men  to  receive  praise  from  them  for 
your  liberality ;  for  there  is  no  reward  in  your 
own  conscience  for  such.  There  is  nothing  that 
receives  such  an  insinuating,  private  criticism,  as 
vain-glory,  or  self-laudation.  The  charity  of 
such  is  always  given  with  a  grudge  and  leaves 
behind  a  sting  that  makes  a  person  hate  himself 
for  his  meanness. 


g80     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

Of  all  things,  the  Master  disapproved  most  of 
hypocrisy  and  insincerity,  especially  in  the  matter 
of  religion.  When  you  pray,  be  sincere.  Do 
not  try  to  make  men  believe  you  are  so  very  good 
by  long  prayers.  Do  not  go  into  public  places 
with  long,  wordy  prayers,  but  when  you  pray, 
go  into  your  closet,  close  the  door  and  there  pour 
out  your  soul  unto  God,  and  you  will  be  heard 
and  your  prayers  will  be  answered.  Ask  for  spir- 
itual things  and  spiritual  blessings,  for  it  is  pre- 
sumed that  you  will  obtain  that  which  you  most 
need,  by  proper  asking,  and  due  exertion  on  your 
part. 

God  never  digs  potatoes,  saws  wood,  runs 
the  loom,  or  grinds  the  flour  for  any  one;  but 
with  an  honest  purpose  by  your  own  proper  effort 
you  will  obtain  your  daily  bread.  You  will  ob- 
tain forgiveness,  in  a  spiritual  sense,  of  your  tres- 
passes, if  you  forgive  those  who  ti'espass  against 
you ;  but  you  cannot  and  should  not  get  forgive- 
ness of  your  short-comings  while  you  burden  your 
own  heart  with  grudges  against  others.  First, 
clear  your  own  door-yard  before  you  demand  a 
clearance  of  others.  Do  not  go  moping  around 
the  world,  with  a  long  face  and  a  sad  counte- 
nance, to  make  people  believe  you  are  religious. 
Jesus  did  not  recommend  such  devotion,  but 
rather  that  men  wash  their  faces  and  be  cheerful. 
Jesus  especially  deprecated  the  practice  of  plac- 
ing one's  whole  efforts  on  money-making;  while 
money  is  necessary,  yet  one's  life  should  be  tem- 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  281 

pered  with  spiritual  truths  and  a  spiritual  prep- 
aration for  the  life  to  come.  For  a  man  has  only 
a  short  time  to  stay  here,  but  a  long  time  over 
there,  and  as  this  is  the  preparatory  period  of  a 
man's  existence,  it  is  but  prudent  that  he  make 
proper  preparation  for  the  next  life.  Jesus 
taught,  that  a  person  should  not  forget  his  spirit- 
ual nature  in  his  rush  for  worldly  possessions,  for 
they  will  soon  be  beyond  his  control. 

Neither  cast  your  pearls  before  swine ;  they 
will  trample  them  under  foot  as  worthless  incum- 
brances ;  but  take  the  richness  of  your  soul  with 
words  of  kindness  to  the  hungry,  to  those  who 
ask,  and  to  them  impart  the  beauties  of  the  await- 
ing harvest  for  those  who  have  economized  their 
time  here  in  the  work  of  laying  a  foundation  to 
build  on  in  the  future.  Enter  into  the  narrow 
way  of  living,  supply  the  wants  of  the  body  with 
frugal  modesty ;  but  on  the  soul  lavish  the  rich- 
ness of  thought  and  meditation  that  you  may 
enjoy  the  hereafter  without  regrets  for  the  time 
lost  here  in  efforts  to  accumulate  worthless  trash 
of  both  body  and  mind.  There  are  but  few  that 
take  the  narrow  way  because  the  broad  road  of 
pleasure  that  caters  to  the  lusts  of  the  flesh  is  so 
tempting  and  pressing  that  men  yield  to  the  de- 
mands of  the  flesh  to  the  destruction  of  the  joys 
of  the  soul.  The  flesh,  like  your  old  clothes,  will 
be  left  behind  while  the  spiritual  man  will  step 
forward  into  a  new  field  of  life,  with  new  clothes 
suited  to  his  condition.     Every  act  of  life  will 


282     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

leave  its  Impression ;  and  woe,  intensified  with  re- 
gret, awaits  those  who  enter  the  other  world 
smirched  with  debaucheries,  wrongdoing,  and 
crime.  A  person  is  known  there  by  the  fruit  he 
brings  with  him ;  it  is  not  those  who  say,  "  Lord, 
Lord,"  but  those  who  have  done  the  will  of  the 
Master  by  right  living,  who  are  rewarded. 
Empty  professions  and  lip  service  have  no 
promises  awaiting  them.  There  is  no  promise 
held  out  to  worshippers ;  in  every  instance,  it  is 
to  doers.  It  is  what  you  do  and  not  what  you 
say,  that  counts  in  the  life  to  come. 

In  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  is  the  promise 
which  says,  "  Every  one  therefore  which  heareth 
these  words  of  mine,  and  doeth  them,  shall  be 
like  unto  a  wise  man,  which  built  his  house  upon 
the  rock ;  and  the  rain  descended,  and  the  floods 
came,  and  the  winds  blew,  and  beat  upon  that 
house,  and  it  fell  not,  for  it  was  founded  on  the 
rock.  And  every  one  who  heareth  these  words  of 
mine,  and  doeth  them  not,  shall  be  like  unto  a 
foolish  man,  which  built  his  house  upon  the  sand ; 
and  the  rain  descended,  and  the  floods  came,  and 
the  winds  blew,  and  smote  upon  that  house,  and  it 
fell  and  great  was  the  fall  thereof." 

The  rich  man  asked  Jesus,  "Good  Master,  what 
good  thing  shall  I  do  that  I  may  have  eternal 
life.''"  Jesus  said,  "Thou  shalt  do  no  murder; 
thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery ;  thou  shalt  not 
steal ;  thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness ;  honor 
thy  father  and  thy  mother;  and  thou  shalt  love 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  283 

thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  The  young  man  said 
unto  him,  "  All  these  things  have  I  kept  from 
my  youth  up ;  what  lack  I  yet?"  And  Jesus  said, 
"  If  thou  wilt  be  perfect  go  and  sell  what  thou 
hast  and  give  to  the  poor  and  thou  shalt  have 
treasures  in  heaven,  and  come  and  follow  me." 
Matt.  xix.  16-24. 

When  the  disciples  rebuked  those  who  brought 
little  children  that  Jesus  might  touch  them,  he  was 
displeased  at  them,  and  replied,  "  Suffer  the  lit- 
tle children  to  come  unto  me  for  of  such  is  the 
kingdom  of  God."     Mark,  x,  13,  14. 

What  did  Jesus  mean.''  Was  it  that  the  king- 
dom of  God  was  composed  altogether  of  babies? 
No,  but  none  could  obtain  the  blessings  of  that 
exalted  sphere  where  God  is  unless  they  were  pure 
as  the  babe,  for  of  such  is  his  kingdom  com- 
posed. There  are  different  conditions  in  the 
other  world  —  the  highest,  is  that  where  God 
reigns  in  his  being ;  the  lowest,  we  will  not  con- 
template. When  the  scribes  tried  to  puzzle  Jesus 
with  questions  they  asked  him,  "  Which  is  the 
first  comandment  of  all?"  And  Jesus  replied, 
"  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God,  with  all 
thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy 
mind,  and  with  all  thy  strength ;  this  is  the 
first  commandment,  and  the  second  is  like  unto 
it,  thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself." 
Mark  xii.  30,  31.  That  command  is  very  much 
criticized,  but  it  is  perfectly  consistent  with  our 
duties  to  our  neighbors,  which  are  to   do   unto 


284     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

them  that  which  we  would  hke  to  have  them  do 
unto  us  under  similar  circumstances. 

The  condition  in  the  other  world  is  most  graph- 
ically given  by  Jesus  in  the  parable  of  the  man 
who  was  traveling  in  a  foreign  country,  and  who 
on  his  return  home  received  the  different  reports 
of  his  servants.  He  laid  this  down  as  the  rule  of 
men's  measurement  in  the  next  world :  "  For  every 
one  that  hath  shall  be  given,  and  he  shall  have 
abundance ;  but  him  that  hath  not  shall  be  taken 
away  even  that  which  he  hath."  It  would  seem 
a  difficult  task  to  take  that  from  a  man  which 
he  does  not  have.  That  reasoning  applies  to  the 
material  side  of  life,  but  Jesus  was  not  talking 
about  this  side  of  life  at  all ;  his  meaning  was 
a  spiritual  one.  If  a  person  goes  into  the  next 
world  with  no  spirituality,  but  loaded  down  with 
iniquity,  he  is  reckoned  as  an  unprofitable  servant, 
and  is  cast  into  outer  darkness, —  "  there  shall  be 
weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth." 

"  Then  shall  the  king  say  to  them  on  the  right 
hand,  Come  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the 
kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  foundation 
of  the  world."  And  this  is  the  service  which 
gained  for  them  that  great  reward,  for  the  para- 
ble goes  on  to  say,  "  For  I  was  anhungered, 
and  ye  gave  me  meat ;  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave 
me  drink;  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  me  in; 
naked,  and  ye  clothed  me ;  I  was  sick  and  ye 
visited  me ;  I  was  in  prison  and  ye  came  unto  me." 
Then    shall   the   righteous   answer   him    saying, 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  285 

"  Lord  when  saw  we  thee  an  hungered,  and  fed 
thee?  Or  thirsty  and  gave  thee  drink?  When 
saw  we  thee  a  stranger,  and  took  thee  in?  Or 
naked,  and  clothed  thee?  Or  when  saw  we  thee 
sick  or  in  prison  and  came  unto  thee?"  And 
the  king  shall  answer  and  say  unto  them,  "  Verily 
I  say  unto  you,  Inasmuch  as  you  have  done  it 
unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye 
have  done  it  unto  me.'' 

Then  followed  the  curse  on  those  who  refused 
to  administer  unto  the  needy.  The  whole  sig- 
nificance of  this  parable  is  that  good  works  in 
the  way  of  humanity  is  of  saving  grace  in  the 
next  life.  Or,  if  a  man  is  a  good  citizen  and 
does  his  duty  here  in  relieving  suffering  as  well 
as  he  can,  he  has  nothing  to  fear  on  the  other 
side  of  life. 

ATONEMENT 

The  doctrine  of  the  atonement  is  greatly  mis- 
understood, and  an  undue  stress  is  placed  on 
the  word  that  is  unwarranted  by  the  teachings 
of  the  Master.  The  Jews  paid  a  price  for  their 
sins  by  offering  cooked  meats,  bread,  and  wine 
to  appease  the  wrath  of  the  Lord,  but  the  meat 
and  bread  were  always  eaten  and  the  wine  drunk 
by  the  priests  who  acted  as  the  agents  of  the 
Lord  in  such  matters.  Jesus  died  to  do  away 
with  the  blood-offerings  of  the  Jews  and  to  im- 
press on  the  world  that  they  were  unavailing  at 
the  throne  of  grace.     Let  us  compare  the  Pauline 


286    LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

doctrine  of  the  atonement  with  the  old  Jewish 
idea. 

In  the  twenty-ninth  chapter  of  Exodus,  we 
read :  "  And  this  is  the  thing  that  thou  shalt  do 
to  hallow  them,  to  minister  unto  me  in  the  priest's 
office:  Take  one  young  bullock  and  two  rams 
without  blemish,  and  unleaven  bread,  and  cakes 
unleavened  mingled  with  oil,  and  wafers  unleav- 
ened anointed  with  oil :  of  fine  wheaten  flour  shalt 
thou  make  them.  And  thou  shalt  put  them  into 
one  basket,  and  bring  them  in  the  basket,  with 
the  bullock  and  two  rams.  And  Aaron  and  his 
sons  thou  shalt  bring  unto  the  door  of  the  taber- 
nacle of  the  congregation,  and  shalt  wash  them 
with  water.  .  .  .  And  thou  shalt  cause  a  bul- 
lock to  be  brought  before  the  tabernacle  of  the 
congregation:  and  Aaron  and  his  sons  shall  put 
their  hands  upon  the  head  of  the  bullock.  And 
thou  shalt  kill  the  bullock  before  the  Lord,  by  the 
door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation.  .  .  . 
But  the  flesh  of  the  bullock,  and  his  skin,  and  his 
dung,  shalt  thou  burn  with  fire  without  the  camp ; 
it  is  a  sin  off^ering.  Thou  shalt  also  take  one  ram ; 
.  .  .  and  thou  shalt  take  his  blood  and  sprinkle 
it  round  about  upon  the  altar,  and  thou  shalt  cut 
the  ram  in  pieces,  and  wash  the  inwards  of  him, 
and  his  legs,  and  put  them  unto  his  pieces,  and 
unto  his  head,  and  thou  shalt  bum  the  whole 
ram  upon  the  altar:  it  is  a  burnt  off^ering  be- 
fore the  Lord ;  it  is  a  sweet  savor,  an  off^ering 
made  by  fire  unto  the  Lord.     Thou  shalt  kill  the 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  287 

other  ram  and  take  his  blood  and  put  it  on  the 
tip  of  the  right  ear  of  Aaron  and  upon  the  tip 
of  the  right  ear  of  his  sons,  and  upon  the 
thumb  of  their  right  hand,  and  upon  the  great 
toe  of  the  right  foot,  and  sprinkle  the  blood 
upon  the  altar  round  about,  .  .  .  and  thou  shalt 
sanctify  the  breast  of  the  wave  offering  and  the 
shoulder  of  the  heave  offering,  which  is  waved,  and 
which  is  heaved  up,  of  the  ram  of  the  consecration, 
even  of  that  which  is  for  Aaron,  and  of  that 
which  is  for  his  sons ;  .  .  .  And  thou  shalt  take 
the  ram  of  the  consecration,  and  seethe  his  flesh 
in  the  holy  place.  And  Aaron  and  his  sons  shall 
eat  the  flesh  of  the  ram,  and  the  bread  that  is 
in  the  basket,  by  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of 
the  congregation.  And  they  shall  eat  those 
things  wherewith  the  atonement  was  made,  to  con- 
secrate and  to  sanctify  them :  but  a  stranger  shall 
not  eat  thereof,  because  they  are  holy.  And  if 
aught  of  the  flesh  of  the  consecrations,  or  of  the 
bread,  remain  unto  the  morning,  then  thou  shalt 
burn  the  remainder  with  fire:  it  shall  not  be 
eaten,  because  it  is  holy.  And  thus  shalt  thou 
do  unto  Aaron,  and  to  his  sons,  according  to 
all  things  which  I  have  commanded  thee:  seven 
days  shalt  thou  consecrate  them.  And  thou  shalt 
offer  every  day  a  bullock  for  a  sin  offering  for 
atonement:  .  .  .  Now  this  is  that  which  thou 
shalt  offer  upon  the  altar:  two  lambs  of  the  first 
year  day  by  day  continually.  The  one  lamb  thou 
shalt  offer  in  the  morning;  and  the  other  lamb 


288     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

thou  shalt  offer  at  even ;  and  with  the  one  lamb 
a  tenth  deal  of  flour  mingled  with  the  fourth 
part  of  an  hin  of  beaten  oil ;  and  the  fourth 
part  of  an  hin  of  wine  for  a  drink  ojfFer- 
ing.  And  the  other  lamb  thou  shalt  offer  at 
even,  and  shall  do  thereto  according  to  the 
meat  offering  of  the  morning,  and  according  to 
the  drink  offering  thereof,  for  a  sweet  savor,  an 
offering  made  by  fire  unto  the  Lord.  This 
shall  be  a  continual  burnt  offering  through- 
out your  generations  at  the  door  of  the  taber- 
nacle of  the  congregation  before  the  Lord ; 
where  I  will  meet  you,  to  speak  there  unto  thee. 
And  there  I  will  meet  with  the  children  of  Israel, 
and  the  tabernacle  shall  be  sanctified  by  my  glory. 
And  I  will  sanctify  the  tabernacle  of  the  con- 
gregation, and  the  altar:  I  will  sanctify  also 
both  Aaron  and  his  sons,  to  minister  to  me  in  the 
priest's  office.  And  I  will  dwell  among  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  and  be  their  God." 

The  book  of  Leviticus  has  many  directions  for 
the  offerings  of  atonement  to  the  Lord  for  the 
sins  of  the  people.  The  book  of  Numbers  has 
also  rules  for  a  drink  offering  to  keep  the  Lord 
reconciled  to  the  children  of  Israel.  "And  the 
drink-offering  thereof  shall  be  the  fourth  part  of 
an  hin  for  the  one  lamb :  .  .  .  Strong  wine  to  be 
poured  unto  the  Lord  for  a  drink  offering.  And 
the  other  lamb  shalt  thou  offer  at  even:  as  the 
meat  offering  of  the  morning,  and  as  the  drink 
offering  thereof,  thou  shalt  offer  it,  a  sacrifice 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  289 

made  by  fire,  of  a  sweet  savor  unto  the  Lord. 
And  on  the  sabbath  day  two  lambs  of  the  first 
year  without  spot,  and  two  tenth  deals  of  flour  for 
a  meat  offering,  mingled  with  oil,  and  the  drink 
offering  thereof.  This  is  the  burnt  offering  of 
every  sabbath,  beside  the  continual  burnt  offering, 
and  his  drink  offerings.  And  in  the  beginnings 
of  your  months  ye  shall  offer  a  burnt  offering 
unto  the  Lord;  two  young  bullocks,  and  one 
ram,  seven  lambs  of  the  first  year  without  spot; 
and  three  tenth  deals  of  flour  for  a  meat  offering, 
mingled  with  oil,  for  one  bullock;  and  two  tenth 
deals  of  flour  for  a  meat  offering,  mingled  with 
oil  for  one  ram ;  and  a  several  tenth  deal  of  flour 
mingled  with  oil  for  a  meat  offering  unto  one 
lamb ;  for  a  burnt  offering  of  a  sweet  savor,  a 
sacrifice  made  by  fire  unto  the  Lord.  And  their 
drink  offerings  shall  be  half  an  hin  of  wine 
unto  a  bullock,  and  the  third  part  of  an  hin 
unto  a  ram,  and  a  fourth  part  of  an  kin  unto 
a  lamb :  this  is  the  burnt  offering  of  every  month 
throughout  the  months  of  the  year."  Numbers 
xxviii.   7-15. 

Under  certain  circumstances  they  used  a  scape- 
goat to  bear  away  the  sins  of  the  children  of 
Israel  into  the  wilderness,  but  in  this  ceremony 
the  Lord  had  one  goat,  too.  "And  he  [Aaron] 
shall  take  two  goats  and  present  them  before  the 
Lord  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congre- 
gation. And  Aaron  shall  cast  lots  upon  the 
two  goats;  one  lot  for  the  Lord,  and  the  other 


290     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

lot  for  the  scapegoat.  And  Aaron  shall  bring 
the  goat  upon  which  the  Lord's  lot  fell,  and  offer 
him  for  a  sin  offering.  But  the  goat  on  which 
the  lot  fell  to  be  the  scapegoat,  shall  be  presented 
alive  before  the  Lord,  to  make  an  atonement  with 
him,  and  to  let  him  go  for  a  scapegoat  into  the 
wilderness.  And  Aaron  shall  lay  both  his  hands 
upon  the  head  of  the  live  goat,  and  confess  over 
him  all  the  iniquities  of  the  children  of  Israel, 
and  all  their  transgressions  in  all  their  sins,  put- 
ting them  upon  the  head  of  the  goat,  and  shall 
send  him  away  by  the  hand  of  a  fit  man  into 
the  wilderness:  and  the  goat  shall  bear  upon  him 
all  the  iniquities  unto  a  land  not  inhabited;  and 
he  shall  let  go  the  goat  in  the  wilderness."  Lev. 
xvi.  7-10,  21,  22. 

However  foolish  the  above  may  appear  to  us, 
the  doctrine  of  the  atonement  of  Jesus  is  derived 
from  the  scapegoat  of  the  Israelites  and  their 
various  offerings  to  appease  the  Lord.  "  Who 
his  own  self  bear  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the 
tree,  that  we,  being  dead  to  sins,  should  live 
unto  righteousness:  by  whose  stripes  ye  were 
healed."  I.  Peter  ii.  24.  "  But  if  we  walk  in 
the  light,  as  he  is  in  the  light,  we  have  fellow- 
ship one  with  another,  and  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ  his  son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin."  I.  John 
i.  7.  "And  ye  know  that  he  was  manifested  to 
take  away  our  sins ;  and  in  him  is  no  sin." 
I.  John  iii.  5.  Jesus  came  to  do  away  with  the 
old,  heathenish  practice  of  blood  sacrifice  to  ap- 


THE  MISSION  OP  JESUS  291 

pease  the  wrath  of  God,  and  demolish  the  Aaronic 
priesthood  and  all  these  sacrifices  under  it. 

Isaiah  in  his  prophesy  of  Jesus  portrayed 
most  graphically  his  condition,  and  awakes  in 
our  hearts  the  saddest  pity  and  warmest  love  for 
that  man  of  sorrows,  who  sacrificed  home,  family, 
and  the  comforts  of  life,  turning  his  back  on  the 
traditions  and  religion  held  sacred  by  his  race, 
that  he  might  bring  light  to  the  world  and  by  that 
help  the  race.  We  admire  him  for  his  ability  as 
a  thinker,  we  adore  him  for  his  self-sacrificing 
nature,  we  love  him  because  his  love  was  un- 
bounded and  he  first  loved  us.  Of  all  the  great 
and  good  men  of  the  world,  none  was  so  perfectly 
developed  in  all  the  ennobling  traits  of  manhood 
as  was  Jesus  Christ,  our  Light  and  Master.  May 
I  live  to  see  the  mists  that  surround  his  purposes 
and  works  lifted,  that  men  may  see  him  as  he  was 
and  appreciate  him  for  his  services  to  a  sinking 
people  in  opening  anew  the  gateway  to  a  life 
beyond  the  tomb,  where  men  are  measured  for 
what  they  are  and  receive  what  they  fully  deserve. 

The  prophetic  picture  of  the  coming  of  Jesus 
by  Isaiah,  made  years  before  the  advent  of  the 
"  Man  of  Sorrow,"  is  sublime  in  its  sadness. 
"  He  is  despised  and  rejected  of  men;  a  man  of 
sorrows,  and  acquainted  with  grief;  and  we  hid 
as  it  were  our  faces  from  him ;  he  was  despised, 
and  we  esteemed  him  not.  Surely  he  hath  borne 
our  griefs,  and  carried  our  sorrows,  yet  we  did 
esteem  him  stricken,  smitten  of  God,  and  afflicted. 


292     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

But  he  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions ;  he 
was  abused  for  our  iniquities ;  the  chastisement 
of  our  peace  was  upon  him ;  and  with  his  stripes 
we  are  healed.  All  we  like  sheep  have  gone 
astray ;  we  have  turned  everyone  to  his  own  way ; 
and  the  Lord  hath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all. 
He  was  oppressed  and  he  was  afflicted,  yet  he  opened 
not  his  mouth;  he  is  brought  as  a  lamb  to  the 
slaughter,  and  as  a  sheep  before  her  shearer  is 
dumb,  so  he  opened  not  his  mouth.  He  was  taken 
from  prison  and  from  judgment:  and  who  shall 
declare  his  generation?  For  he  was  cut  off  out 
of  the  land  of  the  living :  for  the  transgression  of 
my  people  was  he  stricken.  And  he  made  his  grave 
with  the  wicked,  and  with  the  rich  in  his  death ; 
because  he  had  done  no  violence,  neither  was  any 
deceit  in  his  mouth.  Yet  it  pleased  the  Lord  to 
bruise  him ;  he  hath  put  him  to  grief ;  when  thou 
shalt  make  his  soul  an  offering  for  sin,  he  shall 
see  his  seed,  he  shall  prolong  his  days,  and  the 
pleasure  of  the  Lord  shall  prosper  in  his  hand. 
He  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  shall 
be  satisfied;  by  his  knowledge  shall  my  righteous 
servant  justify  many ;  for  he  shall  bear  their  iniq- 
uities. Therefore  will  I  divide  him  a  portion  with 
the  great,  and  he  shall  divide  the  spoil  with  the 
strong;  because  he  hath  poured  out  his  soul  unto 
death:  and  he  was  numbered  with  the  trans- 
gressors ;  and  he  bare  the  sin  of  many,  and 
made  intercession  for  the  transgressors."  Isaiah 
liii.  3-12. 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  293 

We  will  now  quote  what  is  said  in  the  Gospels 
concerning  the  Atonement.  There  were  two 
young  men  whose  mother  sought  to  get  them  an 
honored  position  in  the  other  world,  one  to  sit 
on  the  right  hand  and  the  other  on  the  left  of 
Jesus  in  the  kingdom.  This  incensed  the  ten 
disciples,  but  in  reply  Jesus  said,  "  Ye  know 
that  the  princes  of  the  Gentiles  exercise  dominion 
over  them,  and  they  that  are  great  exercise  au- 
thority upon  them.  But  it  shall  not  be  so  among 
you:  whosoever  will  be  great  among  you  let  him 
be  your  minister;  and  whosoever  will  be  chief 
among  you  let  him  be  your  servant.  Even  so 
the  Son  of  Man  come  not  to  be  ministered  unto, 
but  to  minister,  and  to  give  his  life  a  ransom  for 
many."     Matt  xx.  25-28. 

At  the  last  sad  supper  of  the  Lord  with  his 
disciples  on  earth,  when  their  hearts  were  heavy 
with  grief  and  sorrow,  knowing  that  the  night 
was  coming  on  amid  whose  darkness  their  Lord, 
guide,  instructor  and  Master  would  be  taken 
from  them,  Jesus,  as  they  were  eating,  took  bread, 
and  brake  it,  and  blessed  it,  and  gave  it  to  the 
disciples  and  said,  "  Take,  eat,  this  is  my  body." 
And  he  took  the  cup,  and  he  gave  thanks,  and 
gave  it  to  them  saying,  "  Drink  ye  all  of  it,  for 
this  is  my  blood  of  the  new  testament,  which  is 
shed  for  many  for  the  remission  of  sins."  Matt, 
xxvi.  26-28.  Matthew  is  the  only  one  of  the 
Gospel  writers  who,  in  describing  the  last  sup- 
per, mentions  the  taking  of  the  cup  for  the  remis- 
sion of  sins. 


294     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

On  the  same  subject  Mark  says:  "And  as  they 
were  eating,  he  took  bread,  and  when  he  had 
blessed,  he  brake  it,  and  gave  to  them,  and  said, 
Take  ye:  this  is  my  body.  And  he  took  a  cup, 
and  when  he  had  given  thanks,  he  gave  to  them, 
and  they  all  drank  of  it.  And  he  said  unto 
them,  This  is  my  blood  of  the  covenant,  which 
is  shed  for  many."     Mark  xiv.  22—24. 

Luke  gives  it  a  little  differently :  "And  when 
the  hour  was  come,  he  sat  down,  and  the  apostles 
with  him,  and  he  said  unto  them :  '  With  desire 
I  have  desired  to  eat  this  passover  with  you  before 
I  suffer ;  for  I  say  unto  you,  I  will  not  eat  it,  until 
it  be  fulfilled  in  the  kingdom  of  God.'  And  he 
received  a  cup,  and  when  he  had  given  thanks, 
he  said,  '  Take  this  and  divide  it  among  your- 
selves ;  for  I  say  unto  you,  I  will  not  drink  from 
henceforth  of  the  fruit  of  the  vine  until  the 
kingdom  of  God  shall  come.'  And  he  took  bread, 
and  when  he  had  given  thanks,  he  brake  it,  and 
gave  to  them,  saying,  '  This  is  my  body  which 
is  given  for  you ;  this  do  in  remembrance  of  me.' 
And  the  cup,  in  like  manner,  after  supper,  saying, 
'  This  cup  is  the  new  covenant  in  my  blood,  even 
that  which  is  poured  out  for  you.'  "  Luke  xxii. 
14-20. 

Paul  gives  his  version  of  the  last  supper  as 
follows :  "  For  I  received  of  the  Lord  that  which 
also  I  delivered  unto  you,  that  the  Lord  Jesus 
in  the  night  in  which  he  was  betrayed  took  bread ; 
and  when  he  had  given  thanks,  he  brake  it,  and 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  295 

said,  '  This  is  my  body,  which  is  for  you :  this 
do  in  remembrance  of  me.'  In  like  manner  also 
the  cup,  after  supper,  saying,  '  This  cup  is  the 
new  covenant  in  my  blood:  this  do,  as  often  as 
ye  drink  it,  in  remembrance  of  me.  For  as  often 
as  ye  eat  this  bread,  and  drink  the  cup,  ye  pro- 
claim the  Lord's  death  till  he  come.'  "  I.  Cor.  xi. 
23-27. 

A  covenant  is  an  agreement.  The  New  Testa- 
ment is  called  a  new  covenant;  the  covenant  of 
the  New  Dispensation,  as  distinguished  from  the 
Old  Dispensation.  Covenants  in  ancient  times 
were  always  sanctified  and  ratified  by  the  shedding 
of  blood  and  the  making  of  a  mutual  vow  for  the 
keeping  of  the  same.  For  instance,  according 
to  Homer,  a  covenant  was  made  between  the  Greeks 
and  Trojans;  a  lamb  was  slain,  its  throat  was 
cut,  and  upon  the  pouring  out  of  its  blood,  the 
following  adjuration  was  entered  into  by  the 
covenanting  parties: 

"  All  glorious  Jove,  and  ye,  the  powers  of  heaven. 
Whoso  shall  violate  this  contract  first. 
So  be  their  blood,  their  children's  and  their  own. 
Poured  out,  as  this  libation,  on  the  ground; 
And  let  their  wives  bring  forth  to  other  men." 
—  Iliad,  1,  3,  298,  301. 

Jesus  spoke  in  parables.  The  eating  of  the 
bread  of  his  body  and  drinking  of  his  blood  was 
used  in  a  spiritual  sense,  not  a  literal.  That  is 
explained  by  Jesus  himself  when  we  was  instruct- 


296    LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

ing  the  Jews  concerning  his  mission  and  spiritual 
power.  In  speaking  of  himself,  he  says,  "  I  am 
the  living  bread,  which  came  down  from  heaven. 
If  any  man  eat  of  this  bread,  he  shall  live  for- 
ever." This  the  Jews  did  not  understand  and 
even  some  of  his  disciples  forsook  him.  On  see- 
ing this,  Jesus  explained,  "  The  words  that  I 
have  spoken  unto  you  are  spirit,  and  life."  John 
vi.  50-64. 

We  must  divide  the  New  Testament  into  two 
parts,  that  we  may  understand  clearly  the  sub- 
ject we  are  treating.  One  part  consists  of  the 
four  Gospels,  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John. 
The  other  part  is  made  up  of  the  Pauline  Gospels, 
or  writings  of  Paul,  which  he  claimed  as  HIS 
GOSPELS,  and  in  considering  them  we  must 
not  confound  the  teachings  of  Paul  with  those  of 
Jesus.  "  Render  unto  Caesar  that  which  is  Cae- 
sar's," is  applicable  to  the  writings  of  Paul  and 
to  the  text  of  the  four  Gospels. 

We  must  take  the  writings  of  Paul  with  some 
allowance,  for  he  was  illy  prepared  to  reflect  the 
true  teachings  of  the  Master  in  their  purity  and 
simplicity.  Immediately,  upon  his  conversion,  he 
went  away  into  Arabia,  and  he  says,  "  I  conferred 
not  with  flesh  and  blood;  neither  went  I  up  to 
Jeinisalem  to  them  which  were  apostles  before  me ; 
but  I  went  away  into  Arabia ;  and  again  I  re- 
turned unto  Damascus.  Then  after  three  years 
I  went  up  to  Jerusalem  to  visit  Cephas,  and  tar- 
ried with  him   fifteen   days.     But   other   of  the 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  297 

apostles  saw  I  none,  save  James,  the  Lord's 
brother.  Then  I  came  into  Syria  and  SiHcia, 
and  I  was  still  unknown  by  face  unto  the  churches 

of  Judea,  which  were  in  Christ Then 

after  the  space  of  fourteen  years,  I  went  up  again 
to  Jerusalem,  with  Barnabas,  taking  Titus  also 
with  me.  And  I  went  up  by  revelation ;  and  I  laid 
before  them  the  Gospel  which  I  preach  among  the 
Gentiles  but  privately  before  them  who  were  of 
repute  lest  by  any  means  I  should  be  running,  or 
had  run,  in  vain."     Gal.  i.  16;  ii.  2. 

Please  note  that  Paul  preached  his  gospel,  and 
not  the  gospel  of  Jesus,  claiming  that  he  got  it 
through  revelation  from  Jesus  Christ.  Although 
this  is  the  claim  of  Paul,  must  we  be  reconciled 
to  it  as  having  come  from  Jesus.?  The  laws  of 
nature  never  change  whether  they  be  spiritual  or 
physical,  and  from  my  knowledge  of  spiritual 
laws,  which  I  have  been  studying  from  a  scien- 
tific, practical,  and  demonstrative  standpoint  for 
over  a  quarter  of  a  century,  I  know  that  no  man 
can  tell  from  whom  he  gets  a  revelation.  The 
spirit  revelator  may  call  himself  by  any  name, 
and  the  medium  through  whom  it  is  given  must 
take  what  is  given,  with  no  possibility  of  finding 
out  who  the  spirit  really  is  who  gives  the  informa- 
tion, or  makes  the  revelation.  In  the  case  of 
Paul,  I  would  rather  suspect  that  the  revelator 
was  a  Jew,  who  wished  to  tack  some  of  the  old 
Jewish  tenets  and  dogmas  onto  the  Christian 
faith,  from  the  fact  that  in  Paul,  alone,  we  get 


298     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

the  doctrine  of  vicarious  atonement  through 
blood.  As  he  claims  to  be  the  author  of  his  gos- 
pel, we  should  not  load  down  the  beautiful  teach- 
ings of  Jesus  with  unreasonable  tenets  on  the 
say-so  of  this  newly  converted  Jew,  who  was  dur- 
ing all  of  his  life  an  extremist.  Listen  to  what 
he  says,  and  then  judge  if  he  was  not  presumptu- 
ous and  arrogant,  pretending  to  teach  the  truths 
of  the  Master  but  putting  in  the  place  of  the 
teachings  of  Jesus,  his  own  gospels.  "  For  I 
make  known  to  you,  brethren,  as  touching  the 
gospel  which  was  preached  by  me,  that  it  is  not 
after  man.  For  neither  did  I  receive  it  from 
man ;  nor  was  i  taught  it,  but  it  came  to 
me  through  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ.  For  ye 
have  heard  of  my  manner  of  life  in  time  past 
in  the  Jews'  religion,  how  that  beyond  measure  I 
persecuted  the  church  of  God,  and  made  havoc  of 
it:  and  I  advanced  in  the  Jews'  religion  beyond 
many  of  mine  own  age  among  my  countrymen, 
being  more  exceedingly  zealous  for  the  traditions 
of  my  fathers.  But  when  it  was  the  good  pleas- 
ure of  God,  who  separated  me  even  from  m}' 
mother's  womb,  and  called  me  through  his  grace 
to  reveal  his  Son  in  me,  that  I  might  preach  him 
among  the  Gentiles ;  straightway  I  conferred  not 
with  flesh  and  blood :  neither  went  I  up  to  Jerusa- 
lem to  them  that  were  apostles  before  me,  but  I 
went  away  into  Arabia ;  and  again  I  returned  into 
Damascus."     Gal.  i.  11-18. 

Paul,  being  a  converted  Jew,  in  which  faith  he 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  299 

was  so  ardent  and  vindictive  against  all  noncon- 
formists, may  be  expected  to  have  much  of  his 
early  convictions  lingering  by  him  in  his  after- 
life. To  reconcile  himself  to  his  own  conversion, 
he  often  injected  his  Jewish  doctrines  into  his 
Christian  teachings ;  to  that  end  he  holds  on  to 
the  dogma  of  original  sin  and  blood  propitiations 
through  sacrifice.  In  this,  he  runs  athwart  the 
teachings  of  Jesus,  as  given  by  John. 

Paul  says,  "  There  is  no  distinction  between 
Jew  and  Gentile ;  for  all  have  sinned,  and  fall 
short  of  the  glory  of  God;  being  justified  freely 
by  his  grace  through  the  redemption  that  is  in 
Christ  Jesus ;  whom  God  set  forth  to  be  a  pro- 
pitiation, through  faith,  in  his  blood,  to  show 
his  righteousness,  because  of  the  passing  over  of 
the  sins  done  aforetime."     Romans  iir.  22-25 : 

Now  turn  to  John,  who  says,  "  God  sent  not 
his  Son  into  the  world  to  judge  the  world,  but 
that  the  world  should  be  saved  through  him.  He 
that  believes  on  him  is  not  judged;  he  that  be- 
lieveth  not  hath  been  judged  already ;  because  he 
hath  not  believed  on  the  name  of  the  Only  Begot- 
ten Son  of  God;  and  this  is  the  judg- 
ment: That  Light  is  come  into  the  world, 
and  men  loved  darkness  rather  than  the  light,  for 
their  works  are  evil ;  for  every  one  that  doeth  ill 
hateth  the  light  and  cometh  not  to  the  light,  lest 
his  works  be  reproved."     John  iii.  16-21. 

Again  Paul  says,  "  We  are  ambassadors  there- 
fore on  behalf  of  Christ,  as  though  God  were  en- 


300     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

treating  by  us :  we  beseech  you  on  behalf  of  Christ, 
be  ye  reconciled  to  God.  Him  who  knew  no  sin 
he  made  to  be  sin  on  our  behalf ;  that  we  might  be- 
come the  righteousness  of  God  in  him."  II.  Cor. 
V.  20,  21. 

"There  is  no  respect  of  persons  with  God.  For 
as  many  as  have  sinned  without  the  law  shall 
perish  without  the  law:  and  as  many  as  have 
sinned  under  the  law  shall  be  judged  by  the  law; 
for  not  the  hearers  of  the  law  are  just  before 
God,  but  the  doers  of  the  law  shall  be  justified 
(for  when  Gentiles  that  have  not  the  law  do  by 
nature  the  things  of  the  law,  these  not  having  the 
law  are  the  law  unto  themselves ;  in  that  they  show 
the  work  of  the  law  written  in  their  hearts,  their 
conscience  bearing  witness  therewith,  and  their 
thoughts  one  with  another  accusing  or  else  excus- 
ing them)  ;  in  the  day  when  God  shall  judge  the 
secrets  of  men,  according  to  my  gospel,  by 
Jesus  Christ."     Romans  ii.  11—16. 

"Now  to  him  that  is  able  to  establish  you  ac- 
cording to  MY  GOSPEL,  and  the  preaching  of 
Jesus  Christ,  according  to  the  revelation  of  the 
mystery  which  hath  been  kept  in  silence  through 
times  eternal,  but  now  is  manifested,  and  by  the 
scriptures  of  the  prophets,  according  to  the  com- 
mandment of  the  eternal  God,  is  made  known  unto 
all  the  nations  unto  obedience  of  faith:  to  the 
only  wise  God,  through  Jesus  Christ,  to  whom  be 
the  glory  forever."     Romans  xvi.  25-27. 

In  the  above  we  are  expressly  informed  that 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  301 

Paul  was  not  only  presenting  his  gospel,  but  that 
God  had  revealed  unto  him  a  mystery  which  had 
been  kept  in  silence  through  times  eternal.  Paul 
rather  glories  in  the  fact  that  he  was  preaching 
his  own  gospel,  obtained  by  him  through  revela- 
tion, independent  of  the  apostles  of  Christ ;  and 
that  after  his  first  visit  to  Jerusalem  he  did  not 
go  there  again  for  fourteen  years,  as  before 
stated. 

"But  from  those  who  were  reputed  to  be  some- 
what (whatsoever  they  were  it  maketh  no  matter 
to  me;  God  accepteth  not  man's  person)  they,  I 
say,  who  were  of  repute  imparted  nothing  to  me: 
but  contrariwise,  when  they  saw  that  I  had  been 
intrusted  with  the  gospel  of  the  uncircumcision 
even  as  Peter  with  the  gospel  of  the  circumcision 
(for  he  that  wrought  for  Peter  unto  the  apostle- 
ship  of  the  circumcision  wrought  for  me  also  unto 
the  Gentiles )  :  and  when  they  perceived  the  grace 
that  was  given  unto  me,  James  and  Cephas  and 
John,  they  who  were  reputed  to  be  pillars,  gave  to 
me  and  Barnabas  the  right  hands  of  fellowship." 
Gal.  II.  6-9. 

"For  this  cause,  I,  Paul,  the  prisoner  of  Christ 
Jesus  in  behalf  of  you  Gentiles, — if  so  be  that  ye 
have  heard  of  the  dispensation  of  that  grace  of 
God  which  was  given  me  to  you-ward;  how  that 
by  revelation  was  made  known  unto  me  the  mys- 
tery, as  I  wrote  before  in  few  words,  whereby, 
when  ye  read,  ye  can  perceive  my  understanding 
in  the  mystery  of  Christ;  which  in  other  genera- 


302     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

tions  was  not  made  known  unto  the  sons  of  men, 
as  it  hath  now  been  revealed  unto  his  holy  apos- 
tles and  prophets  in  the  Spirit."     Eph.  iii.  1-6. 

"Christ  redeemed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law, 
having  become  a  curse  for  us:  for  it  is  written. 
Cursed  is  every  one  that  hangeth  on  a  tree." 
Gal.  m.  13. 

"For  there  is  One  God,  one  Mediator  also  be- 
tween God  and  men,  himself  man,  Christ  Jesus, 
who  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all."  I.  Tim.  ii. 
5,6. 

*'  We  should  live  soberly  and  righteously  and 
godly  in  the  present  world;  looking  for  the 
blessed  hope  and  looking  for  the  appearing  of  our 
great  God  and  Redeemer,  Jesus  Christ,  who  gave 
himself  for  us  that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all 
iniquity,  and  purify  unto  himself  a  people  for 
his  own  possession,  zealous  of  good  works."  Tit. 
II.  12,  13,  14. 

Paul  was  a  theologian  and  sought  to  build  up 
his  own  theology  and  to  attach  it  to  that  of  Jesus, 
rather  than  to  glorify  the  Lord,  who  extended  his 
work  with  all  humility  and  meekness,  not  glorify- 
ing himself  in  any  manner.  Jesus  kept  his 
personnel  in  the  background,  making,  at  all  times, 
his  work  prominent;  Paul  always  making  himself 
prominent.  Paul  was  a  very  smart  man  and  a 
very  ambitious  man,  taking  a  leading  and  active 
part  in  all  things  he  was  concerned  in. 

His  theology  may  be  considered  in  two  parts 
or  divisions.     In  one  part,  he  shows  himself  a  log- 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  303 

ical  thinker,  and  in  the  other,  a  mystical  con- 
founder  in  the  use  of  terms.  He  belonged  to  an 
age  in  which  great  thinkers  dealt  in  abstract  con- 
ceptions ;  which  carried  him,  at  times,  to  the  very 
heart  of  the  Gnostic  teachings.  While  he  was 
not  a  Gnostic,  he  adopted  some  of  the  philosophy 
of  that  sect  without  compromising  his  own.  The 
same  thing  is  observable  of  the  Stoic  philosophy ; 
in  some  instances,  that  philosophy  found  favor 
with  Paul.  It  must  not  be  considered  for  a  mo- 
ment that  the  entire  moral  and  practical  philoso- 
phy of  the  New  Testament  was  original  with 
either  Jesus  or  the  apostles ;  wherever  they  found 
a  truth  that  was  applicable,  whether  of  Jewish  or 
Gentile  origin,  they  used  it.  The  fundamental 
principles  of  truth  in  moral,  spiritual,  or  physical 
philosophies  are  alike  applicable  to  all  people  un- 
der similar  circumstances ;  of  which  fact  Paul  was 
keenly  observant. 

THE  LAST  SUPPER 

The  last  supper  of  Jesus  was  the  closing  of 
the  Jewish  festival  of  the  Passover  and  the  intro- 
duction of  the  Eucharist.  The  Passover  was  cel- 
ebrated in  commemoration  of  the  throwing  off  of 
Egyptian  bondage  and  the  introduction  of  the 
Israelites  as  an  independent,  separate  nation.  The 
last  supper  was  the  abolishment  of  Jewish  sacri- 
fice in  commemoration  of  the  Passover  and  the 
introduction  of  that  sacrament  which  has  been 
kept  ever  since  by  Christian  believers,  in  remem- 


304     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

brance  of  the  last  sad  gathering  of  Jesus  with  his 
disciples,  where  love  was  poured  out  upon  their 
souls  amidst  the  deepest  sorrow  that  could  befall 
the  lowly  Nazarene. 

Entering  on  his  ministry,  the  greatest  the 
world  has  ever  witnessed,  he  felt  the  load  of  sin 
and  wrong  upon  it,  which  was  his  to  penetrate, 
expose,  and  roll  away,  giving  instead  of  the  dark- 
ness of  Jewish  Theocracy,  the  light  of  life  beyond 
the  tomb.  With  those  duties  resting  upon  him  as 
he  walked  the  shores  of  Galilee  in  the  throes  of 
hunger,  thirst,  and  poverty,  without  a  home,  with 
but  few  friends,  and  with  enemies  on  every  side, 
well  might  he  exclaim,  "  The  fowls  of  the  air  have 
their  nests,  the  foxes  their  holes,  but  the  Son  of 
Man  hath  nowhere  to  lay  his  head." 

Those  were  sorrows  sad  and  heavy  enough  to 
crush  any  other  being ;  but  they  were  light  indeed 
compared  with  the  sorrow  of  that  night  when  at 
that  solemn  feast  Jesus  sat  with  his  twelve  disci- 
ples around  the  table.  While  eleven  of  them  were 
partaking  of  the  feast  with  a  feeling  of  reverence 
for  the  old  Jewish  custom,  Jesus  alone  knew  that 
before  morning  should  rise  upon  the  holy  city  of 
Jerusalem  and  the  thousands  of  people  gathered 
there  in  commemoration  of  the  paschal  feast,  he 
would  be  in  the  hands  of  a  fanatical  mob  and 
forced  away  to  a  prejudiced  court,  where  he 
would  hear  the  groundless  accusations  of  perjured 
tongues,  and  the  sentence  of  crucifixion 
passed  upon  him.     But  the  saddest  of  all  was  the 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS        -305 

knowledge  that  at  that  very  moment,  one  of  his 
disciples,  one  of  his  chosen,  one  who  had  shared 
the  benedictions  of  love  divine  in  his  heart,  and 
received  the  full  confidence  and  fidelity  of  the 
Master  had  betrayed  the  trust  reposed  in  him 
and  had  already  entered  in  an  agreement  with 
those  who  thirsted  for  his  blood ;  his,  whose  whole 
life  was  dedicated  to  their  good,  who  knew  no 
guile,  and  could  do  no  wrong.  To  think  that 
his  life  had  been  bargained  away  by  one  of  his 
own  disciples,  one  loved  and  trusted,  one  who  now 
sat  with  him  at  the  table  and  partook  of  the  wine, 
typical  of  the  blood  of  his  Lord,  and  would  eat 
of  the  bread  of  his  body  ! 

And  Jesus  wept. 

Let  us  go  with  them  to  the  garden  on  the 
Mount  of  Olives  where  so  often  has  he  sat  watch- 
ing the  busy  throng  in  Jerusalem  and  anticipat- 
ing the  joy  of  being  able  some  day  not  far 
distant  to  impart  to  them  knowledge  of  a  better 
way  of  life  and  of  the  joys  just  beyond  the  cold 
river  of  mortal  death.  They  had  not  proceeded 
far  on  their  way  when  one  dropped  out  to  fulfill 
his  contract  of  betrayal,  leaving  but  eleven  to  fol- 
low the  Master.  The  absent  one  was  to  impart  to 
the  waiting  mob  the  whereabouts  of  their  victim. 
O  what  subtlety,  what  craft  on  the  one  hand,  and 
what  sorrow  on  the  other.  For  Jesus  knew  his 
every  thought  and  action. 

Jesus  was  a  man  with  all  the  sensibilities  of  a 
highly  nervous  system ;  he  knew  the  painful  sen- 


306     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

sations  of  the  penetrating  nails  in  his  hands  and 
feet;  he  knew  the  sufferings  of  the  cross:  the 
cringing  flesh,  the  trickHng  blood  flowing  from  his 
veins ;  and  he  had  ample  opportunity  to  avoid  it 
all  by  flight.  But  no  !  the  cup  was  ready ;  though 
bitter  the  anguish,  it  was  his  mission  to  partake  of 
it,  that  the  old  thrall  of  spiritual  darkness  might 
be  dispelled,  and  coming  ages  realize  the  truth  of 
a  continued  life.  He  had  told  them  of  this  truth, 
but  they  would  not  believe.  It  was  for  him  to 
make  a  demonstration,  that  they  might  know  from 
an  object  lesson,  presented  to  their  comprehension 
through  his  death  in  an  ignominious  manner,  and 
by  the  resurrection  of  his  body  and  his  material 
reappearance,  as  promised.  All  of  this  he  knew 
was  necessary  though  it  took  his  life,  now  in  the 
prime  of  useful  manhood,  to  prove  it. 

But  that  night  at  the  garden !  Who  can  con- 
template it  in  calmness !  Our  sorrow  must  mingle 
to  some  degree  with  his  anguish  and  grief.  Think 
of  that  lowly  party  as  they  slowly  and  silently 
crossed  the  brook  Kedron  with  its  murmuring 
waters.  And  the  soft  moon,  in  full-orbed  beauty, 
hung  over  the  scene.  The  trees  of  the  garden  of 
Gethsemane  like  sepulchral  gnomes  cast  their  long 
shadows  across  the  pathway.  The  intense  gloom 
and  stillness  was  only  broken  by  the  whispering 
lips  of  Jesus,  who  said  to  his  disciples,  "  Sit  ye 
here  while  I  go  and  pra^^  yonder."  "  Come, 
Peter,  and  ^^e  two  sons  of  Zebedee,"  methinks  he 
added,  "  go  a  little  way  with  me."     And  he  began 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS         307 

to  be  sorrowful  and  very  heavy.  "My  soul  is 
exceedingly  sorrowful,  even  unto  death ;  tarry  ye 
here  and  watch  with  me."  And  going  a  little 
farther  alone,  he  fell  on  his  face,  and  with  the  dust 
of  the  ground  mingled  he  his  tears  of  grief,  and 
in  the  heart  throes  of  sorrow  he  prayed,  "  O  my 
Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from 
me;  nevertheless,  not  as  I  will,  but  as  thou  wilt." 

Returning,  he  found  Peter  asleep,  and  he  said, 
"  What !  Couldst  ye  not  watch  with  me  one  hour  ? 
Watch  and  pray,  that  ye  enter  not  into  tempta- 
tion." Oh,  what  an  hour !  What  a  trial !  In 
the  midst  of  his  anguish  Jesus  said  to  Peter,  "  The 
spirit  indeed  is  willing,  but  the  flesh  is  weak." 
Who  but  Jesus  could  have  withstood  such  an  or- 
deal? The  spirit  said  yes,  the  flesh  said  no,  and 
amid  the  conflict  of  the  two  elements  of  his  nature, 
he  went  away  again  and  prayed,  saying,  "  O  my 
Father,  if  this  cup  may  not  pass  away  from  me, 
except  I  drink  it,  thy  will  be  done."  And  he  came 
back  and  found  them  asleep  again.  Imagine  if 
you  can,  the  environment  of  that  lone  soul  in  the 
silent  night,  as  Jesus  turned  away  from  his  sleep- 
ing watch  to  commune  with  the  spirit  of  God. 
Coming  again  to  his  disciples  and  finding  them 
still  in  deep  sleep,  his  pensive  eyes  fell  upon  them 
in  their  slumbers  and  he  murmured,  "  Sleep  on 
and  take  your  rest ;  behold  the  hour  is  at  hand  and 
the  son  of  man  is  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  sin- 
ners." 

O,  what  a  reality  filled  the  mind  of  Jesus  then ! 


308    LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

While  we  cannot  fully  realize  the  awfulness  of 
that  dark  hour  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane  as 
Jesus  stood  alone  with  his  sleeping  Apostles  about 
him  awaiting  the  coming  of  the  mob,  we  can 
reverently  worship  at  his  shrine  of  love  and  grow 
in  strength  as  we  grow  in  years. 

THE  ARREST  OF  JESUS 

When  Judas,  the  apostate,  traitor,  and  ingrate, 
backed  by  a  mob  armed  with  staves  and  swords, 
came  into  the  peaceful  presence  of  Jesus,  Jesus 
was  of  all  the  persons  present  the  most  calm  and 
self-possessed.  Seeing  the  tumult,  one  of  the 
party  of  the  disciples  drew  his  sword  and  smote 
off  the  ear  of  one  of  the  mob.  With  the  calm- 
ness of  a  philosopher  teaching  a  lesson  to  his  pu- 
pils, Jesus  commanded  him  to  put  up  his  sword, 
and  seeing  an  opportunity  to  give  a  wholesome 
lesson  to  men,  said  "  Put  up  again  thy  sword 
into  its  place ;  for  all  they  that  take  the  sword 
shall  perish  with  the  sword." 

Then  he  turned  to  the  mob  and  upbraided  them 
for  their  show  of  violence,  and  to  assure  them 
that  their  pretensions  of  strength  could  avail 
nothing  against  him  were  it  not  that  he  was  ful- 
filling his  mission  on  earth  in  declaring  his 
psychic  powers  and  the  availability  of  the  invisi- 
ble world,  should  he  call  upon  spirit  forces  for 
aid,  he  said  "  Thinkest  thou  that  I  cannot  now 
pray  to  my  Father,  and  he  shall  presently  give  me 
more  than  twelve  legions  of  angels  ?  "     But  again 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  309 

thinking  of  his  mission,  he  said  further,  "  But 
how  then  shall  the  scriptures  be  fulfilled,  that  thus 
it  must  be." 

In  this  lesson  we  have  the  authority  of  Jesus 
for  angelic  power  when  it  is  necessary  to  have 
that  power  invoked.  If  men  would  study  that 
power,  they  would  find  that  it  is  as  available  now 
as  it  was  in  the  time  of  Jesus,  if  conditions  are 
favorable  and  the  mediator  sufficiently  cultured. 
One  of  the  conditions  is  that  to  receive  spiritual 
aid  the  suppliant  must  pray  to  the  Father  to  send 
His  angels  to  aid  a  sincere  mind.  Without 
prayer  from  a  sincere,  believing  heart,  there  is 
no  intervention  of  angelic  power. 

Comprehending  the  inevitable  results  flowing 
from  the  purposes  of  the  mob,  the  disciples  for- 
sook Jesus  and  fled,  leaving  him  in  the  hands  of 
the  power  of  wickedness.  The  mob  laid  hold  of 
Jesus,,  as  an  unwilling  culprit,  and  "  led  him 
away  to  Caiaphas,  the  high  priest,  where  the 
scribes  and  the  elders  were  assembled,"  Peter  fol- 
lowing afar  off.  Then  came  the  mock  trial ;  false 
and  perjured  witnesses  testified  against  him,  but 
with  all  their  testimony  could  establish  nothing 
to  give  the  high  priest  even  a  semblance  of  cause 
for  putting  Jesus  to  death,  which  above  all  things 
they  wished  to  do. 

Caiaphas  then  took  the  case  In  hand  and  tried  to 
question  and  cross-question  Jesus  to  catch  an  ex- 
pression that  he  could  twist  into  a  crime.  After 
exhausting  his  arts  of  speech,  he  burst  into  a 


310      LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

passion,  (for  Jesus  stood  in  meekness  and  silence, 
not  making  an  objection  or  pretending  to  care 
for  what  they  were  saying, —  he  had  already  un- 
dergone his  trial  in  the  garden,  where  the  weak 
flesh  was  conquered  by  the  spirit,  and  he  had 
given  his  consent  to  endure  the  coming  suffering, 
"  thus  it  must  be,")  and  exclaimed  to  him, 
"  Answerest  thou  nothing  ?  What  is  it  which 
these  witness  against  thee?"  But  Jesus  held  his 
peace.  Becoming  more  exasperated,  the  high 
priest  exclaimed,  "  I  abjure  you  by  the  living 
God,  that  thou  tell  us  whether  thou  be  the  Christ, 
the  Son  of  God?"  To  this  haughtiness  the  IMas- 
ter  replied,  "  Thou  hast  said ;  nevertheless  I  say 
unto  you.  Henceforth  ye  shall  see  the  son  of 
man  sitting  at  the  right  hand  of  power,  and  com- 
ing on  the  clouds  of  heaven."  That  was  a  most 
terrible  crime  in  the  estimation  of  the  high  priest, 
who  in  his  priestly  rage  tore  his  clothes  saying, 
"  He  hath  spoken  blasphemy." 

It  seems  in  those  days,  and  it  is  somewhat  so 
now,  that  the  highest  crime  that  a  man  can  com- 
mit is  to  assert  something  on  religious  matters 
that  the  majority  do  not  believe,  and  their  belief  is 
usually  the  result  of  the  want  of  knowledge. 

Then  came  the  great  commotion.  "  What 
think  ye,"  said  the  high  priest  to  those  waiting 
in  thirst  for  the  life  of  the  Master.  They  an- 
swered and  said,  "  He  is  worthy  of  death."  Then 
they  commenced  by  spitting  in  his  face,  hitting 
him  with  their  hands,  buffeting  him  and  taunting 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  311 

him  and  making  all  manner  of  ado  of  his  pow- 
ers as  a  sensitive.  "  Prophesy  unto  us,  thou 
Christ ;  who  is  he  that  struck  thee  ?" 

Poor  self-deluded  creatures,  little  knowledge 
had  they  of  the  laws  governing  spiritual  discern- 
ment. It  requires  the  calmest  conditions  and  the 
most  perfect  surroundings  to  give  spiritual  mani- 
festations. Perhaps  Jesus  could  have  named  the 
roughs  who  spat  in  his  face  and  buffeted  him, 
had  he  desired  to  do  so,  and  perhaps  he  could  not 
for  the  tumult  around  him.  It  was  then  that 
Peter  cursed  and  denied  his  Master.  Then,  of 
all  persons,  Jesus  was  in  the  hands  of  a  mob, 
with  no  pitying  eye  or  responsive  heart ;  worse,  in 
this  respect,  than  at  the  cross,  for  his  faithful 
mother  and  Mary  were  there  weeping  at  the  great 
wrong  imposed  upon  an  innocent  man  through  re- 
ligious fanaticism.  But  Jesus  was  not  the  only 
one  who  has  suffered  through  ignorant  fanaticism, 
but  he  is  the  only  one  who  willingly  gave  up  his 
life  for  the  enlightenment  of  the  people. 

All  night  long  they  kept  up  their  amusement 
of  petty  tortures  of  the  Master.  When  morning 
came  they  bound  him  and  led  him  away  to  Pilate, 
the  Roman  governor,  for  final  disposition.  There 
he  stood  before  the  governor,  in  fetters  and  hu- 
miliation, the  most  innocent  of  men  and  the 
greatest,  in  the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the 
smiles  of  God,  of  any  man  that  has  ever  blessed 
the  world  by  his  life.  "  Art  thou  the  king  of 
the  Jews.'"'  asked  Pilate.     Jesus,  neither  affirming 


312     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

nor  denying,  meekly  replied,  "  Thou  sayest." 
"  Hearest  thou  not  the  many  things  they  witness 
against  thee?"  demanded  Pilate;  but  Jesus  an- 
swered not  a  word.  At  this  Pilate  was  greatly 
surprised  and  finding  nothing  against  him 
worthy  of  death,  his  idea  was  to  release  him.  But 
the  mob  would  not  give  ear  to  such  a  proposi- 
tion. The  life  blood  of  the  Master  was  what 
they  were  after,  and  nothing  short  of  that  would 
satisfy  them.  This  is  the  only  case,  in  the  annals 
of  history,  where  a  high  court,  presided  over  by 
a  dignitary  of  state,  defiled  the  ermine  of  justice 
and  delivered  an  innocent  man,  whom  he  had  so 
adjudged,  over  to  death  to  answer  the  demands 
of  a  mob. 

Pilate  found  no  blame  in  Jesus  which  would 
sub j  ect  him  to  the  extremes  of  death,  and  as  it  was 
his  custom  to  release  a  prisoner  at  each  festival  of 
the  passover,  he  asked  the  people  whom  they 
would  have  released, —  Jesus  or  that  notable 
criminal  Barabbas.  Being  instructed  by  the 
high  priest  and  scribes  to  call  for  the  release  of 
Barabbas,  the  crowd  did  so  and  demanded  the  cru- 
cifixion of  Jesus.  Being  warned  in  a  dream  of 
the  danger  which  Jesus  was  in,  even  the  wife  of 
Pilate  sent  word  to  the  governor  to  have  nothing 
to  do  in  the  way  of  inflicting  wrong  on  Jesus, 
for  he  was  a  righteous  man.  Notwithstanding 
all  this  and  the  entire  want  of  proof  of  any 
wrong  In  Jesus,  the  mad  fanatics  demanded  his 
blood,  for  it  had  to  be  so. 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  313 

Being  unable  to  dissuade  the  people  from  their 
thirst  for  the  life  of  the  Master,  and  yielding 
to  their  demands,  Pilate,  in  the  face  of  the  tu- 
mult, took  water  and  washed  his  hands  saying,  "  I 
am  innocent  of  the  blood  of  this  righteous  man ; 
see  ye  to  it."  The  mob  answered,  "  His  blood  be 
on  us  and  on  our  children." 

And  the  poor  Jew  has  no  country  to-day 
which  he  can  call  his  own,  and  sore  has  been  his 
national  afflictions.  They  took  the  blood  of  our 
Lord  upon  themselves  and  on  their  children,  and 
have  received  and  are  receiving  the  results.  To 
tempt  the  power  of  heaven  is  a  dangerous  experi- 
ment, as  the  Jews  have  already  learned. 

JESUS'  JOURNEY  TO  THE  CROSS 

Let  us  now  take  with  Christ  his  last  journey 
from  the  mock  court  of  Pilate  to  the  Hill  of 
Skulls  (Golgotha),  and  contemplate  the  signifi- 
cance of  that  death  march  from  the  heart  of  the 
great  city  of  Jerusalem  to  the  little  hillock  of 
stone  lying  just  north  of  the  gates,  where  Jesus 
gave  up  his  life  to  demonstrate  a  truth  most  vital 
in  importance  to  the  whole  human  race.  The 
mere  death  of  Jesus,  as  a  man,  was  not  of  such 
great  significance  as  to  attract  to  that  fact  alone 
the  attention  of  all  the  ages,  for  many  good  men 
had  been  crucified  before  him  and  many  martyrs 
have  died  in  their  faith  since  his  time,  leaving 
only  a  mere  trace  of  their  unhappy  fate.  But  in 
Jesus  is  sustained  something  more  than  the  mere 


314.     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

execution  of  a  good,  noble,  innocent  being ;  in  him 
was  centered  a  great  principle  of  nature,  the  force 
of  which  could  not  be  learned  or  fathomed  by  any 
of  the  physical  laws  of  nature  known  to  man. 
The  force  centered  in  Jesus  was  of  a  spiritual  na- 
ture, which  alone  could  be  fathomed  through  the 
laws  of  spirituality,  which  to  that  age  was  a  dead 
letter. 

This  was  more  than  an  ordinary  journey  of  a 
condemned  man  from  a  death-sentencing  court  to 
the  place  of  execution.  It  was  a  journey  from 
the  sentence  of  death  to  the  joys  of  life, —  a 
journey  that  led  through  the  gloom  of  the  tomb 
to  the  sunlight  of  life  eternal,  a  journey  that  led 
down  through  the  valley  of  death  into  a  new  field 
of  existence,  where  false  witnesses  and  mock 
courts  have  no  standing  and  men  are  known  as 
they  are  and  not  as  they  pretend;  where  Virtue 
has  its  own  reward  and  Vice  its  accusing  gnome ; 
where  men  are  valued  according  to  the  deeds  done 
in  the  body;  a  journey  made  hideous  by  an  ig- 
norant, howling,  vindictive,  and  vicious  mob,  a 
mob  walking  in  darkness  neath  the  weight  of 
moral  turpitude,  not  beholding  the  light  of  spir- 
itual truths. 

There  are  some  things  in  the  different  records 
of  this  journey  that  are  antagonistic  to  each 
other,  which  have  been  stumbling  blocks  in  the 
eyes  of  the  scrutinizing  public  that  never  have 
been  explained  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  skepti- 
cal  mind;   but  to   my   mind   no   explanation   is 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  315 

needed  for  the  earnest  investigator  after  the 
crowning  object  of  the  life,  acts,  and  purposes  of 
the  coming  of  Jesus  are  properly  understood. 
Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke  say  that  a  man  from 
Cyrene  bore  the  cross  of  Jesus,  while  John  says 
"  bearing  his  own  cross,"  he  was  taken  to  the 
place  of  execution.  Now  which  is  true?  Did 
Jesus  bear  his  own  cross  or  was  it  born  by  a 
Cyrenian?  The  discrepancy  can  never  be 
solved,  and  what  if  it  is  not?  Suppose  those  men 
who  wrote  the  Gospels  made  a  mistake  in  this 
instance:  that  does  not  militate  against  the  true 
mission  and  important  work  of  Jesus. 

We  know  that  before  his  time  an  absolute,  con- 
tinued, spiritual  existence  as  an  individual  entity 
was  not  taught  or  understood  by  the  people.  He 
imparted  that  truth  to  the  world  by  his  life  and 
death.  Let  us  keep  those  things  before  our 
minds  and  not  lose  ourselves  in  trying  to  explain 
inexplicable  minor  assertions  of  any  of  the  writ- 
ers of  the  New  Testament.  There  are  many 
things  in  the  New  Testament  that  are  irreconcila- 
ble, and  to  attempt  to  inflict  an  honest  mind  with 
a  forced  harmony  only  enhances  the  infliction  of 
error  and  drives  them  farther  from  the  mark.  Let 
the  one  truth  that  Jesus  came  as  a  spiritual  light 
to  the  world  be  our  supreme  thought,  and  then 
those  minor  discrepancies  need  not  concern  us. 
Jesus  lived,  and  in  his  life  we  have  a  noble  ex- 
ample of  perfect  manhood,  an  example  that  we 
can  follow  with  safety,  an  example  that  no  other 


316     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

man  has  exhibited.  Why  not  accept  that  life 
as  a  guide  notwithstanding  there  may  have  been 
erroneous  statements  of  physical  things  sur- 
rounding his  doings  while  in  earth  activities. 

We  must  admit  that  Jesus  gave  to  the  world 
the  most  convincing  truths  of  a  continued  life 
after  death,  and  informed  us  how  to  establish  the 
facts  of  a  future  life,  a  question  in  which  we  are 
all  concerned.  Then  why  not  study  his  spiritual 
life,  without  prejudice  and  without  the  spirit  of 
fault-finding  in  our  hearts.?  This  is  all  for  our 
own  individual  good  and  why  should  we  be- 
come enemies  to  our  own  welfare  in  our  studied 
endeavor  to  hunt  out  flaws  in  the  phraseology  of 
some  one  who  lived  and  wrote  two  thousand  years 
ago.f*  In  our  study  of  the  life  of  Jesus  we  should 
bear  in  mind  that  hfe  is  too  short  for  every  man 
to  formulate  a  code  of  morals  for  himself,  and 
he  must  look  to  others  for  a  suitable  code.  Take 
the  life  of  Jesus,  and  winnow  the  wheat  from  the 
chaff  of  the  New  Testament,  and  we  can  find  no 
better  morals  or  rules  of  life  in  any  other  code. 
Why  not  take  it?  We  must  all  die.  Can  we  find 
a  more  sublime  death  than  the  example  left  by 
Jesus  .f*  The  last  words  he  uttered  were  the  most 
sublime  prayer  that  ever  fell  from  the  lips  of 
man.  "Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not 
what  they  do." 

Is  there  any  other  life  in  all  history  that  has 
given  us  greater  or  clearer  proofs  of  a  conscious 
hfe  after  death  than  that  of  Jesus.?     Then  why 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  317 

not  take  him  as  an  example  and  learn  from  his  life 
and  death  what  our  own  destiny  will  be?  This 
life  is  but  a  probationary  state  of  our  being. 
This  body  is  but  our  earthly  tabernacle ;  soon 
we  shall  lay  it  aside  and  enter  into  a  new  field  of 
existence.  Jesus  has  opened  the  gateway  of 
knowledge  to  that  life.  Why  not  study  it?  Let 
us  seek  to  find  the  truths  that  Jesus  taught 
rather  than  the  errors  committed  by  those  who 
wrote  concerning  him.  Let  us  not  try  to  make 
more  of  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament  than 
what  they  were.  They  were  simply  men,  who 
wrote  from  their  best  understanding  at  the  time. 
None  of  them  wrote  concerning  the  life  and  do- 
ings of  Jesus  until  many  years  after  his  death. 
It  is  evident  that  a  written  history  of  his  life  was 
an  afterthought,  and  that  many  unimportant  er- 
rors were  the  result.  But  it  is  no  fault  of  the 
Master,  and  we  should  not  ignore  our  own  well-be- 
ing for  the  want  of  due  diligence  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament writers.  They  were,  save  Paul  and  Luke, 
an  uncultured,  honest,  spiritual  folk ;  they  knew 
nothing  but  from  observation  of  the  physical 
sciences,  and  of  course  they  shared  the  popular 
beliefs  of  the  country,  which  crept  into  the 
woof  and  web  of  the  sacred  narrative  to  a  more 
or  less  extent,  owing  to  the  subject  of  which  they 
were  treating.  In  many  instances  they  indulged 
upon  the  credulity  of  the  masses,  which  was  neces- 
sary in  those  days,  for  the  people  were  moved 
then  in  the  trend  of  divine  thought  through  ex- 


318     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

travagant  narratives  of  extraordinary  manifesta- 
tions. Emotions  controlled  them  more  then  than 
now ;  but  it  is  too  prevalent  at  this  time  to  be 
creditable  to  the  intellect. 

THE  RESURRECTION 

The  dogma  of  the  resurrection  is  a  kind  of  tra- 
dition from  the  old  Jewish  poets  and  prophets, 
in  their  fanciful  indulgence  in  allegories  to  such 
an  extent  that  the  real  subject  was  often  ob- 
scured by  the  word  picture  they  painted.  Those 
old  writers  first  applied  it  to  the  condition  of 
the  Israelites  as  a  debauched  and  enslaved  nation 
and  the  New  Testament  doctrine  on  that  subject 
is  second-hand  hearsay  from  the  Jews.  Isaiah 
in  his  exuberance  applied  the  term  to  the 
heathen  gods  whom  they  had  been  worshipping. 

"  0  Lord,  our  God,  other  lords  beside  thee  have 
had  dominion  over  us,  but  by  thee  only  will  we 
make  mention  of  thy  name;  they  are  dead,  they 
shall  not  live,  they  are  deceased,  they  shall  not 
rise ;   therefore   hast   thou   visited   and   destroyed 

them,  and  made  all  their  memory  to  perish 

Thy  dead  men  shall  live  together,  with 

my  dead  body  shall  they  arise.  Awake  and  sing, 
ye  that  dwell  in  the  dust,  for  thy  dew  is  on  the 
dew  of  herbs  and  the  earth  shall  cast  out  the  dead. 
Isaiah  xxvi.  14,  19.  This  is  a  kind  of  wild  rhap- 
sody that  amuses  the  imagination  but  does  not 
satisfy  the  mind  as  to  any  great  fact  the  poet 
wished  to  express, 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  319 

Let  us  now  consult  Ezekiel,  who  with  all  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  except  the  very  poor 
and  helpless,  were  living  in  captivity  under  the 
Chaldeans,  having  been  taken  prisoners  by  Nebuc- 
hadnezzar and  carried  away  into  Babylon.  In 
their  deplorable  condition  Ezekiel  was  directed  by 
the  Lord  to  prophesy  as  to  the  Jews,  and  in  his 
exuberant  imagination  he  exclaims,  "  The  hand 
of  the  Lord  was  upon  me  and  carried  me  out  in 
the  spirit  of  the  Lord,  and  sat  me  down  in  the 
midst  of  the  valley  which  was  full  of  bones,  and 
lo  they  were  very  dry.  And  he  said  again. 
Prophesy  upon  these  bones,  and  say  unto  them, 
**0  ye  dry  bones,  hear  the  word  of  the  Lord. 
Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  unto  these  bones.  Be- 
hold I  will  cause  breath  to  enter  into  you,  ye  shall 
live,  and  I  will  lay  sinews  upon  you  and  will 
bring  up  flesh  upon  you,  and  cover  you  with  skin 
and  put  breath  in  you,  and  ye  shall  live  and  ye 
shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord."  Ezekiel  then 
relates  the  fact  that  he  did  see  sinews  and  flesh 
and  skin  come  upon  the  dry  bones,  but  they  had 
no  breath  and  he  prophesied  again,  and  breath 
came  into  them  and  they  lived.  Then  the  Lord 
said  unto  Ezekiel,  "  Son  of  man,  these  bones  are 
the  whole  house  of  Israel;  behold  they  say.  Our 
bones  are  dried  and  our  hope  is  lost;  we  are  cut 
off  for  our  parts."  The  Lord  said,  "  O  my  peo- 
ple, I  will  open  your  graves  and  cause  you  to 
come  up  out  of  your  graves  and  bring  you  into 
the  land  of  Israel."     And  again  he  said,  "  I  will 


320     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

make  them  one  nation  in  the  land  upon  the  moun- 
tains of  Israel,  and  one  king  shall  be  the  king  of 
them  all  and  they  shall  be  no  more  two  nations, 
neither  shall  they  be  divided  into  two  kingdoms 
any  more  at  all."     Ezekiel  xxxvii.  1-22. 

Considering  the  dogma  of  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead  and  wishing  to  ascertain  its  force  and 
importance  as  a  belief  or  doctrine  we  should  go 
back  to  its  origin  as  data  to  draw  from.  Daniel, 
in  his  prophetic  description,  gives  it  some  im- 
petus and  character,  which  should  be  liberally  con- 
strued and  interpreted.  It  must  be  kept  in  mind 
that  all  prophesies  are  rather  vagarish  and  unin- 
telligible and  to  understand  them  we  must  ascer- 
tain what  was  in  the  mind  of  the  prophet  when 
he  was  giving  his  vision  to  the  people  and  the 
subject  he  was  prophesying  about. 

Daniel  was  a  slave,  having  been  carried  into 
Babylon  when  very  young.  Being  a  precocious 
boy  he  gained  the  confidence  and  favor  of  the 
king,  and  was  chosen  to  be  about  the  king's 
court  and  became  learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of 
the  Chaldeans,  who  were  at  that  time  greatly 
superior  to  any  of  the  surrounding  nations.  He 
soon  became  distinguished  at  the  Babylonish 
court,  not  only  as  a  scholar  but  as  an  interpreter 
of  dreams  and  visions.  Surrounded  with  the  op- 
portunities afforded  by  the  king's  graces,  he 
became  acquainted  with  the  conditions  of  neigh- 
boring nations  and  peoples,  and  prophesied  as  to 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  321 

them    as    well    as    concerning    his    own    nation. 

In  the  eleventh  chapter  of  the  Book  of  Daniel 
may  be  found  the  most  wonderful  predictions  as 
to  the  future  of  Persia,  Egypt,  Rome,  Greece,  and 
other  nations,  with  a  forecast  of  their  corruptions, 
wars,  and  destinies.  In  his  prophecy  of  the  final 
delivery  of  the  Israelites  from  captivity,  he 
describes  the  great  archangel  Michael,  who  was 
always  considered  the  guardian  of  the  Jewish 
people,  and  he  caused  Daniel  to  prophesy,  "  And 
there  shall  be  a  time  of  trouble,  such  as  never 
was  since  there  was  a  nation  even  to  that  same 
time,  and  at  that  time  thy  people  shall  be  deliv- 
ered, every  one  that  shall  be  found  written  in  the 
book ;  and  many  of  them  that  sleep  in  the  dust  of 
the  earth  shall  awake,  some  to  everlasting  life  and 
some  to  shame  and  everlasting  contempt."  Dan. 
XII.  1-2. 

In  further  discussing  the  question  of  the  res- 
urrection, we  will  impress  upon  the  minds  of  our 
readers  that  Jesus,  in  his  prophecy  of  himself, 
expressed  a  spiritual  truth  dressed  in  language 
that  satisfied  the  minds  of  his  followers,  who  still 
clung  to  the  idea  of  a  bodily  resurrection  at 
some  future  day.  In  speaking  of  his  death,  Jesus 
said,  "  The  Son  of  man  shall  be  delivered  up 
into  the  hands  of  men,  and  they  shall  kill  him, 
and  the  third  day  he  shall  rise  again."  Matt, 
xvii.  23.  This  prophecy  was  literally  fulfilled. 
That  we  may  not  appear  absurd  in  this  assertion. 


322     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

let  us  first  inquire,  "  Who  was  Jesus?  "  In  an- 
swering the  question,  ninety-nine  out  of  every  one 
hundred  would  say,  or  imply,  that  the  physical 
body  of  the  Master  that  was  standing  before 
them,  was  the  man.  Most  people  look  upon  the 
physical  as  the  real  man,  when  it  is  not  the  man 
at  all  but  the  house  in  which  the  man  lives.  On 
this  subject  said  Peter,  "  Yes,  I  think  it  meet  as 
long  as  I  am  in  this  tabernacle  to  stir  you  up  by 
putting  you  in  remembrance  of  these  things,  know- 
ing that  shortly  I  must  put  off  this  tabernacle; 
even  as  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  hath  shown  me." 
II.  Peter  i.  15-21.  The  tabernacle  or  house 
in  which  Jesus  lived  was  destroyed,  the  Jews  did 
kill  the  physical  Jesus;  but  the  man,  the  spirit, 
they  could  not  reach ;  he  was  beyond  their  power ; 
and  after  the  physical  house  of  Jesus  was 
destroyed,  his  spirit,  or  the  real  man,  being  dis- 
engaged from  the  encumbering  earthly  body  did 
arise,  and  exhibited  himself  on  many  occasions  to 
his  followers  and  others. 

That  spiritual  arising  was  considered  a  resur- 
rection. Marvel  not  at  this,  for  the  hour  is  com- 
ing in  which  all  that  are  in  their  graves  shall 
hear  his  voice  and  shall  come  forth;  they  that 
have  done  good,  unto  the  resurrection  of  life; 
and  they  that  have  done  evil,  unto  the  resurrection 
of  judgment.  John  v.  28,  29.  In  this  declara- 
tion the  evangelist  was  speaking  in  the  present 
tense  and  had  reference  to  the  crucifixion,  when 
Jesus   had   cried  again   with  a   loud  voice   and 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  323 

yielded  up  the  ghost,  and  behold  the  veil  of  the 
temple  was  rent  in  twain  from  the  top  to  the 
bottom ;  and  the  earth  did  quake,  and  the  rocks 
were  rent ;  and  the  graves  were  opened  and  many 
bodies  of  the  saints  which  slept  arose,  and  came 
out  of  their  graves  after  his  resurrection,  and 
went  into  the  holy  city,  and  appeared  unto  many. 
Matt,  xxvii.  50-53. 

In  speaking  to  his  disciples  of  his  death  and 
resurrection,  Jesus  said,  "  But  after  that  I  am 
risen  I  will  go  before  you  into  Galilee."  Mark 
xiv.  28.  Did  not  Jesus,  the  morning  of  the  third 
day  after  the  crucifixion,  appear  unto  weeping 
Mary?  Did  she  not  see  two  angels  robed  in 
white,  one  sitting  at  the  head  and  one  at  the  feet 
where  the  body  of  Jesus  had  lain.?  Turning 
around,  did  she  not  see  Jesus,  whom  she  took  to 
be  the  gardener,  and  did  not  Jesus  make  himself 
known  to  her,  but  commanded  her  not  to  touch 
him,  for  he  said  unto  her,  "  Touch  me  not,  for  I 
have  not  yet  ascended  to  my  Father  "  ?  Then 
the  same  day,  at  evening,  being  the  first  day  of 
the  week,  Avhen  the  doors  were  shut,  where  the 
disciples  were  assembled  for  fear  of  the  Jews, 
came  Jesus  and  stood  in  the  midst  of  them. 
John   XX.    11-20. 

And  after  eight  days,  again  his  disciples  were 
within,  and  Thomas  with  them.  Then  came  Jesus, 
the  doors  being  shut,  and  stood  in  the  midst,  and 
said,  "  Peace  be  unto  you."  John  xx.  26.  After 
this     Jesus     showed    himself    to     Simon    Peter, 


324     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

Thomas,  Nathaniel,  and  the  sons  of  Zebedee,  and 
two  other  of  his  disciples,  and  ate  a  hearty  supper 
of  fish  with  them.  He  led  them  out  as  far  as 
Bethany.  He  lifted  up  his  hands  and  blessed 
them.  While  he  was  blessing  them  he  was  parted 
from  them  and  carried  up  into  heaven. 

Jesus  walked  with  two  of  his  disciples  and  con- 
versed with  them  as  they  were  going  to  the  vil- 
lage of  Emmaus,  and  on  the  morning  of  the 
resurrection  a  vision  of  angels  told  one  of  the 
women  who  went  in  search  for  him  that  he  was 
alive;  and  as  he  sat  at  meat  M'ith  them  and  after 
he  took  bread,  blessed  it,  and  gave  it  to  his  dis- 
ciples, he  then  vanished  out  of  their  sight.  Luke 
xxiv.  Those  manifestations  of  Jesus  after  his 
crucifixion  were  characterized  by  founders  of  the 
New  Testament  religion  as  a  resurrection  of  the 
body  of  Jesus.  In  a  spiritual  sense  they  were 
correct;  in  a  physical  sense  they  were  not,  for 
flesh  and  blood  cannot  enter  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  Jesus  appeared  to  those  people  as  a 
materialized  spirit,  or  in  a  materialized  form,  and 
it  was  nothing  new ;  for  spirits  have  been  mate- 
rializing and  manifesting  themselves  to  the  world 
from  ages  too  remote  for  history  to  grasp,  and 
they  are  still  materializing  and  appearing  to  the 
people  who  put  themselves  in  the  way  for  such 
manifestations. 

We  have  express  evidence  that  spirits  manifest 
themselves  to  men,  at  proper  times  and  under 
proper  conditions,  in  every  writer  and  prominent 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  325 

personage  who  has  left  an  imprint  in  the  Bible 
from  Genesis  to  Revelations.  Not  one  has  failed 
to  give  evidence  of  spiritual  manifestations.  They 
may,  in  some  instances,  use  language  different 
from  that  used  by  the  people  of  this  age,  but 
the  ideas  are  the  same.  It  would  be  absurd 
to  infer  that  during  the  whole  of  the  existence  of 
the  human  race,  the  spiritual  side  of  life  was 
kept  from  all  save  the  Jews.  They  claimed  to 
be  the  especial  favorites  of  God ;  for  that  we  have 
only  their  word.  All  other  religious  orders  claim 
the  same  thing  for  themselves.  We  have  passed 
the  age  of  taking  assertions  for  proof.  Evi- 
dence is  what  a  person  says  about  a  thing  or 
subject  under  consideration;  proof  is  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  fact.  The  fact  of  spirit  return 
has  been  established  by  proofs  in  so  many  ways 
that  we  must  deny  the  forces  of  our  own  senses, 
deny  the  Bible,  deny  history,  deny  the  evidence  of 
every  nation  on  the  globe  and  of  every  age  and 
set  ourselves  up  against  them  all,  or  concede  the 
fact  and  take  it   as   proven. 

The  first  proof  of  materialization  is  when  the 
Lord  God  walked  through  the  Garden  of  Eden  in 
the  cool  of  the  day.  Adam  and  Eve  had  hidden 
themselves  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  God 
among  the  trees  of  the  garden ;  and  the  Lord  God 
called  unto  Adam,  and  said  unto  him,  "  Where  art 
thou?  "  Then  followed  the  confession,  the  curse, 
3nd  banishment  from  the  garden ;  but  taking 
compassion  on  them  because  of  their  nakedness, 


326     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

the  Lord  God  made  coats  of  skins  and  clothed 
them.  Gen.  iii.  That  story  is  inconsistent  with 
the  idea  that  the  Infinite  Creator  indulged  in 
such  episodes.  If  the  transaction  occurred  at  all 
it  must  have  been  a  transaction  between  Adam, 
Eve,  and  a  spirit  whom  the  author  of  the  book 
called  the  "Lord  God." 

What  can  be  said  of  the  story  of  the  "  tower 
of  Babel?"  "And  the  Lord  came  down  to  see 
the  city  and  the  tower  which  the  children  of  men 
builded."  Can  such  ignorance  be  attributed  to 
the  Infinite.''  And  again,  he  said,  "  Go  to,  let 
us  go  down  there  and  confound  their  language 
that  they  may  not  understand  one  another's 
speech."     Gen.  xi.  5-8. 

How  about  the  story  of  the  three  men  appear- 
ing to  Abraham  as  he  sat  in  his  tent  door  in  the 
heat  of  the  day,  whom  Abraham  addressed  as  "  My 
Lord,"  who  informed  him  of  the  fact  that  a  child 
was  to  be  bom  of  Sarah  and  his  name  should  be 
called  Isaac.  Were  they  men  or  spirits?  They 
could  not  have  been  God,  for  there  were  three 
of  them,  and  besides,  the  person  here  speaking 
was  ignorant  of  the  conditions  in  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah,  and  had  to  go  down  and  see  for  him- 
self.    This   story  is  to  be  found  in  Gen,   xviii. 

Two  angels  appeared  at  Sodom  at  even,  and 
Lot  sat  in  the  gate.  Lot  called  them  lords,  took 
them  to  his  house,  washed  their  feet  and  kept 
them  all  night,  making  them  a  feast  of  unleaven 
bread,  and  they  did  eat.    Then  followed  the  story 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  327 

of  the  mob  and  the  destruction  of  Sodom  and  the 
four  other  cities  of  the  valley.     Gen.  xix. 

There  appeared  unto  Moses  in  the  wilderness 
of  Mount  Sinai  an  angel  of  the  Lord  in  a  flame 
of  fire  in  a  bush.  Acts  vii.  30.  Many  other  in- 
stances of  spirit  manifestation  are  left  unnoticed 
for  the  want  of  space.  Did  not  the  woman  of 
Endor  call  up  Samuel  who  had  been  dead  for 
many  years,  and  did  not  Saul  converse  with 
him.''  And  for  the  disobedience  of  Saul,  did  not 
Samuel  inform  him  that  "  The  Lord  will  also 
deliver  Israel  with  thee  into  the  hands  of  the 
Philistines,  and  tomorrow  shalt  thou  and  thy  sons 
be  with  me."  (I.  Sam.  xxviii.)  Saul  and  his  son 
Jonathan  were  killed  in  battle  the  following  day, 
Jonathan  by  the  hands  of  the  enemy  and  Saul 
by  his  own  hand.  "  Tomorrow  shalt  thou  and 
thy  sons  be  with  me,"  said  the  materialized  spirit 
of  Samuel  to  Saul,  and  it  was  so.  When  Nebu- 
chadnezzar was  holding  a  drunken  revel,  came 
forth  the  fingers  of  a  man's  hand  and  wrote  on 
the  wall  of  the  king's  palace;  and  the  king  saw 
part  of  the  hand  that  wrote.     Dan.  v.  5. 

There  is  evidence  that  the  term  "  resurrection  " 
did  not  always  mean  the  rising  of  the  physical 
body  after  death,  in  the  estimation  of  the  writers 
of  the  New  Testament,  but  was  applied  to  the 
spiritual  man  rather  than  to  the  physical  man. 
The  spirit  was  considered  by  both  the  Old  and 
the  New  Testament  writers  as  the  inner  man. 
"  Thus   saith   the   Lord,   which  stretcheth   forth 


328     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

the  heavens,  and  layeth  the  foundation  of  the 
earth,  and  formeth  the  spirit  of  man  within  him." 
Zech.  xii.  1. 

When  the  impure  spirit  is  gone  out  of  the  man 
it  roves  through  parched  deserts  seeking  a  place 
of  rest  and  finds  it  not ;  and  then  it  says,  "  I 
will  return  to  my  house  [the  man],  whence  I 
came."  Matt.  xii.  43,  44.  Jesus  took  Peter, 
James,  and  John,  his  brother,  up  into  a  high  moun- 
tain and  was  transfigured  before  them,  and  be- 
hold there  appeared  Moses  and  Elias  talking  with 
him.  Matt.  xvii.  1-3.  Moses  was  transfigured 
fifteen  hundred  years  before  that.  Ex.  xxxiiii. 
29.  And  Stephen  was  transfigured  after  this. 
Acts  vi.  1—15.  At  the  crucifixion,  when  life  could 
no  longer  be  associated  with  the  physical,  when 
the  spirit  was  compelled  to  take  its  departure  from 
the  body,  Jesus  cried  with  a  loud  voice  and  "  gave 
up  the  ghost."  Matt,  xxvii.  50.  That  is,  the 
spirit  departed,  and  his  body  was  left  a  lifeless 
corpse. 

Let  us  not  be  too  opinionated  as  to  our  branch 
of  religion ;  it  is  good  enough  and  we  must  not 
claim  too  much.  It  is  absurd  to  contend  that 
Jesus  was  the  first  fruit  of  the  grave ;  that  he 
was  the  first  one  who  had  risen  from  the  state 
of  death  to  that  of  life.  All  religions  are  based 
on  the  fact  of  a  future  life  and  a  superintending 
intelligence,  which  they  call  God,  or  some  other 
name  meaning  the  same  thing. 

Plato  taught  that  man  is  a  dual  being,  pos- 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  329 

sessing  both  a  physical  body  and  soul,  main- 
taining that  the  existence  of  the  soul  was  not 
dependent  on  the  physical  body,  that  the  body 
might  die  but  the  soul  would  live  on ;  it  is  true 
Plato  believed  in  reincarnation  in  its  broadest 
sense.  Socrates  believed  that  he  was  constantly 
attended  by  spirits,  which  he  called  demons. 
Pythagoras  believed  in  the  separate  existence  of 
the  soul  from  the  body.  Every  poet  and  master 
of  music  since  the  "  morning  stars  sang  together  " 
has  left  inspiring  proofs  of  the  immortality  of 
man  independent  of  the  physical  body. 

In  one  sense  of  the  word  Jesus  was  the  first 
fruits  of  the  grave,  and  his  spiritual  ascension 
was  the  first  resurrection.  There  were  two  pre- 
vailing religions  in  the  Roman  empire  at  that 
time.  One  was  the  Jewish  religion  and  the  other 
was  Paganism,  as  it  is  usually  called;  but  in 
reality  it  was  the  religion  of  philosophy,  based 
on  Polytheism,  or  plurality  of  Gods.  The  Jews 
were  almost  unknown  to  the  civilized  world  in 
olden  times  and  their  religion  was  confined  to  the 
little  country  of  Palestine,  their  nationality  be- 
coming a  factor  only  after  they  had  become  a 
nation  without  a  country.  When  the  meek  and 
lowly  Nazarene  commenced  to  preach  and  teach, 
it  awoke  gi'eat  interest  in  the  minds  of  all  who 
heard  him,  for  it  was  a  new  philosophy  and  a  new 
religion.  He  founded  no  church,  formulated  no 
creed,  but  went  about  doing  good,  healing  the 
sick,  consoling  those  in  trouble,  impressing  the 


330      LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

doctrines  of  the  brotherhood  of  man  upon  all 
and  how  to  make  this  life  ripen  into  a  noble 
existence  in  the  life  to  come.  He  was  the  first 
fruit  of  this  new  religion ;  the  first  one  who  was 
sacrificed  to  its  truths  at  the  behest  of  envious 
bigots  who  could  only  answer  his  beautiful  teach- 
ings by  taking  his  innocent  life.  The  only  an- 
swer that  could  ever  be  made  to  the  philosophy 
of  Jesus  was  the  argument  of  force. 

The  spiritual  resurrection  of  man  has  been 
proven  in  so  many  ways  that  we  may  say  the 
question  is  settled  forever, —  settled  because  there 
have  been  so  many  witnesses  testifying  to  the 
fact  of  a  future  life,  with  not  one  against  it. 
I  say,  not  one  against  it.  And  why  is  there  not 
one  witness  to  the  contrary  in  this  great  age  of 
disbelief?  Because  it  is  impossible  to  prove  a 
negative.  One  affirmative  witness  of  a  fact  is 
worth  more  than  a  thousand  witnesses  who  do 
not  know.  There  was  a  man  once  convicted  of 
the  larceny  of  a  pig  on  the  testimony  of  three 
witnesses  who  saw  him  steal  it.  When  he  was  called 
up  for  sentence  and  asked  if  he  had  anything  to 
say  why  sentence  should  not  be  passed  on  him 
for  the  crime,  he  said.  Yes ;  there  were  only 
three  witnesses  who  testified  against  him,  and  he 
could  have  produced  fifty  good  men  who  would 
swear  they  never  saw  him  do  the  deed! 

No  one  can  prove  the  non-existence  of  spirit 
life,  while  countless  millions  have  had  affirmative 
proofs  of  the  fact.     Agnosticism  proves  nothing. 


THE  MISSION  OF  JESUS  331 

Negations  prove  nothing.  But  affirmation  fur- 
nishes the  proofs  of  every  fact  susceptible  of 
proof.  Some  say  that  a  future  life  is  not  sus- 
ceptible of  proof.  How  do  they  know  it  is  not.'' 
There  is  a  large  class  of  good  meaning  people 
who  are  wedded  to  negative  assertions  about 
spirits  returning  after  death.  How  do  they 
know  it.?  Others  says  they  do  return  and  do 
communicate,  under  certain  conditions,  with  peo- 
ple on  this  side  of  life.  Which  is  the  better 
authority,  the  man  who  knows  or  the  man  who 
does  not  know?  We  have  the  record  of  many 
witnesses  who  saw  and  conversed  with  the  Master 
after  his  crucifixion.  Who  is  able  to  say  they  did 
not? 

The  best  evidence  of  a  man's  sincerity  on  any 
subject  is  the  personal  sacrifice  he  makes  in  the 
advocacy  of  his  belief.  No  man  will  make  a  sac- 
rifice of  his  life  for  a  principle  unless  he  be- 
lieves he  is  right.  The  apostles  of  the  Lord  were 
witnesses  of  the  acts,  life  and  doings  of  Jesus,  and 
as  evidence  of  their  sincerity  they  suffered  death 
in  advocating  his  cause.  Bear  in  mind  that  was 
long  before  their  religion  became  a  power  in  the 
little  country  in  which  they  lived.  They  gave 
their  lives  in  proof  that  they  saw  our  Lord  and 
Master  after  his  bodily  death,  and  no  man  ever 
brought  proof  that  they  had  no  such  experiences. 


VIII 
JESUS  SAW  THEIR  THOUGHTS 

*'And  Jesus,  seeing  their  thoughts,  said.  Why 
do  you  think  evil  in  your  hearts?"     Matt.  ix.  4. 

This  is  a  most  wonderful  declaration ;  one 
which  we  cannot  pass  by  as  a  miracle ;  but  it  is  a 
scientific  fact  which,  if  the  world  could  under- 
stand, would  greatly  benefit  the  race. 

It  has  become  an  established  fact  in  the  minds 
of  psychic  students  that  thoughts  are  material 
things,  or  substances  of  nature  evolved  from  the 
battery  of  the  individual  brain,  and  that  those 
thoughts  can  be  seen  by  certain  finely  developed 
minds.  Thoughts  are  not  only  seen  by  sensitives, 
but  felt  also.  "  And  there  entered  a  thought  into 
them,  which  of  them  should  be  greater.  But 
Jesus  seeing  the  thoughts  of  their  hearts  took 
a  child  and  seated  him  by  his  side."     Luke  ix.  47. 

Observe  the  wording  closely  and  you  will  see  the 
force  of  my  argument.  "  And  there  entered  a 
thought  into  them."  Logically,  how  could  a 
thought  enter  into  the  minds  of  the  disciples  that 
was"  not  in  existence?  We  know  to-day  that 
thoughts  are  factors  of  nature  which  are  drawn 
to  the  battery  of  the  brain  from  the  thought  sub- 
stance of  the  spiritual  realm,  and  when  the 
thought  of  "  who  should  be  greater  "  entered  into 
332 


JESUS  SAW  THEIR  THOUGHTS     333 

their  minds,  Jesus,  "  seeing  the  thoughts  of  their 
hearts,"  spoke  to  them  on  the  question  they  were 
secretly  thinking  about. 

"  But  seeing  their  thoughts,  he  said  unto  them. 
Every  kingdom  divided  against  itself  shall  be 
brought  to  desolation,  and  house  upon  house  shall 
fall."     Luke  xi.  17. 

Paul  was  not  a  stranger  to  the  working  of  the 
thoughts  of  men.  He  also  recognized  thoughts 
as  working  individualities,  as  things,  in  the  minds 
of  men.  In  his  letter  to  the  Romans  he  said, 
"  Who  show  the  works  of  the  law  written  in  their 
hearts,  their  conscience  bearing  witness  to 
them,  and  their  thoughts  between  them- 
selves     ACCUSING      OB      ALSO      DEFENDING      ONE 

ANOTHER."  Rom.  ii.  15.  He  here  recog- 
nized thoughts  as  things  accusing  or  defend- 
ing one  another.  If  the  brain  sent  forth 
thoughts  as  its  own  manufactured  articles 
he  would  have  used  different  language;  he  would 
have  said  of  those  who  were  working  under  or 
against  the  law  that  they,  desiring  to  accuse  or 
defend  as  their  inclinations  directed,  sent  forth 
the  thoughts  of  their  hearts  accordingly. 

From  earliest  times  our  greatest  artists,  in  rep- 
resenting Jesus  on  canvas,  present  him  with  an 
aureola  surrounding  his  head,  radiance  of  which 
but  speaks  of  the  spiritual  purity  of  the  mind 
of  the  Master.  The  representation  of  the  Mas- 
ter with  a  beautiful  halo  around  his  head  was 
not  a  figment  of  the  minds  of  the  artists  who 


334     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

transmitted  the  features  of  Jesus  to  canvas ;  it 
was  a  real  presentation  to  their  minds  of  the 
mental  emanations  from  the  person  and  brain  of 
that  exalted  personage. 

From  the  brain  of  every  person  emanates  his 
mental  aura.  If  It  be  Intellectual  and  spiritual  it 
will  be  pure  and  radiant,  representing  the  source 
from  whence  it  came ;  If  the  mind  be  clouded  with 
selfish  and  jealous  thoughts,  the  character  of  the 
person  will  be  of  the  same,  and  from  that  brain 
will  arise  an  aura  of  a  somber  cast ;  If  an  individ- 
ual Is  mercenary  the  emanations  will  be  of  a  red 
cast ;  If  he  be  beset  with  crime,  dark  will  be  his 
surroundings ;  all  of  which,  a  finely  organized 
sensitive  can  see.  Every  phase  of  the  human 
mind  emits  its  peculiar  aura ;  on  the  same  princi- 
ple that  every  flower  emits  Its  own  peculiar  aroma. 

Thought  is  the  architect  of  the  man.  Jesus 
could  read  the  thoughts  of  men  but  did  not  know 
the  physiological  seat  of  them.  He  thought 
It  came  from  the  heart  Instead  of  the  brain,  knowl- 
edge which  later  science  has  developed.  But 
that  want  of  scientific  knowledge  must  not  be 
placed  to  the  disparagement  of  our  Lord;  he 
came  as  a  moral  and  social  reformer,  a  spiritual 
adept,  and  founder  of  a  great  religion. 

It  is  important  in  the  investigations  of  all  sub- 
jects to  start  with  a  firm  foundation  and  on  that 
build  the  structure.  Before  we  start  to  building 
the  superstructure  of  the  "  how  "  of  thinking,  let 
us  ascertain  the  source  of  thought.     Where  do 


JESUS  SAW  THEIR  THOUGHTS     335 

thoughts  come  from?  What  are  they  when  ex- 
pressed? 

Aristotle  was  the  father  of  metaphysics,  which 
comprehends  according  to  his  philosophy  the 
science  of  being,  the  science  of  first  principles, 
and  the  science  of  God.  If  the  science  of  being 
and  the  science  of  first  principles  can  be  explained 
according  to  natural  laws,  then  the  science  of  God 
is  natural  and  may  be  explained. 

What  is  God?  Is  he  above  and  beyond  nature 
or  is  he  the  comprehension  of  nature?  If  he  is 
above  and  beyond  nature  then  he  is  not  in  har- 
mony with  nature.  If  he  is  in  harmony  with  na- 
ture then  he  must  be  of  its  nature,  and  if  so,  he 
is  the  comprehension  of  the  whole  of  the  universe. 
Aristotle,  Kant,  Bishop  Berkeley,  Roger  Bacon, 
Jonathan  Edwards,  and  a  host  of  other  metaphy- 
sicians class  the  mind  and  spirit  as  one  and  the 
same  thing  and  make  it  an  essence  of  God.  Were 
they  right  or  were  they  wrong? 

Those  great  minds  took  God  as  a  postulate, 
and  mind  as  a  part  of  his  being,  and  treated  him 
as  self-conscious  and  absolute  wisdom.  Those  at- 
tributes of  God  are  issued  out  to  man  according 
to  his  needs,  as  occasion  requires.  According 
to  their  philosophy  man  is  a  dual  being;  his  cor- 
poration is  a  physical  entity ;  his  mind  or  soul  is 
another  distinct  part ;  the  former  is  of  the  dust 
of  the  earth,  the  latter  a  part  of  God. 

That  school  of  philosophers  go  on  the  theory 
that  truth  can  be  obtained  with  regard  to  facts ; 


336     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

they  look  through  the  subjective  to  find  all  things 
and  that  subjective  something  they  call  God. 
"  Because  I  am  he  is."  "  Because  I  am,"  pre- 
supposes a  greater;  that  is  beyond  question.  But 
does  that  proposition  solve  the  mysteries  of  the 
greater  ? 

The  Ionic  school  of  Greece  sought  to  find 
through  an  objective  philosophy  an  explanation 
of  all  things.  The  Eleatics  divided  nature  into 
the  finite  and  infinite,  and  maintained  that  it  was 
not  possible  for  the  finite  to  comprehend  the  infi- 
nite ;  and  therefore,  to  comprehend  the  universe  all 
things  should  be  resolved  into  the  unity  of  the 
Infinite  Being,  and  from  that  source  reach  out 
into  pre-existing  nature,  and  also  fathom  the  in- 
finitude of  the  future.  This  school  has  swayed 
the  dominant  speculations  of  men  ever  since,  and 
the  result  is  that  most  of  our  thinkers,  in  solving 
the  problems  of  nature,  start  with  God  as  a  pos- 
tulate and  then  attempt  to  reason  all  things  into 
his  absoluteness.  This  Is  what  is  termed  sub- 
jective philosophy,  or  the  art  of  reasoning  from 
a  postulate  to  the  nature  of  things,  in  contradis- 
tinction to  objective  philosophy,  which  takes 
known  objects  and  principles  as  its  basis  of  inves- 
tigations and  through  scientific  tests  and  analyti- 
cal observations  and  by  deductive  reasoning  ar- 
rives at  truth. 

In  objective  philosophy  the  thinker  rises  from 
the  particular  to  the  universal,  from  the  observa- 
tion of  the  crude  to  an  understanding  of  the  re- 


JESUS  SAW  THEIR  THOUGHTS     337 

fined,  from  the  material  to  the  ethereal,  from  the 
homogeneous  to  the  heterogeneous,  from  the  sim- 
ple to  the  complex.  In  this  philosophy  there  are  no 
postulates ;  the  thinker  starts  with  the  known  and 
from  that  reasons  out  the  unknown.  The  subjec- 
tive philosophers  start  with  a  postulate,  the  un- 
known, and  from  that  reason  themselves  into  mys- 
ticisms. 

What  do  we  know  about  thought  ?  Where  does 
it  come  from?  Is  it  a  thing,  a  something,  or  is  it 
the  result  of  the  action  of  the  brain?  Let  us 
take  some  known  subjects  and  from  that  stand- 
point take  a  short  step  into  the  realms  of  esoteric 
nature. 

We  know  that  there  is  a  force  in  nature  we 
call  electricity.  How  do  we  know  that?  Be- 
cause we  can  harness  it  up  and  make  it  do  many 
useful  things  for  us ;  as  for  instance,  we  can  make 
it  transmit  intelligence  around  the  world  in  an 
instant  of  time.  How  is  that  done?  By  the  ap- 
plication of  certain  instruments  called  batteries. 
Now  we  know  of  that  force,  but  where  does  it 
come  from?  Did  the  batteries  manufacture  the 
fluid,  or  force?  Do  you  not  recognize  the  fact 
that  electricity  is  an  element  of  nature  and  that 
the  batteries  and  appliances  we  use  for  its  con- 
trol are  but  instruments  through  which  it  demon- 
strates itself  in  some  ways  ? 

Steam  is  but  an  expression  of  a  latent  force  in 
nature.  It  does  not  make  itself,  it  emanates  from 
a  power  behind  it.     Vapor  rises  upon  the  bosom 


338     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

of  the  air,  not  of  itself  but  by  a  power  greater 
than  it  is;  when  it  comes  in  contact  with  a  cool- 
ing element  it  condenses  and  comes  down  in  rain, 
snow,  or  hail.  Every  one  of  these  and  millions 
more  are  elements  of  nature  behind  which  resides 
something  greater  than  they. 

On  the  same  principle,  thoughts  did  not  make 
themselves,  nor  is  the  brain  of  man  the  mill  that 
grinds  them  out ;  but  it  is  the  battery  that  digests 
them  into  human  expression.  Man  is  not  the 
only  intelligent  expression  of  nature;  every  ani- 
mal, tree,  flower  and  vegetable  product  expresses 
their  peculiar  intelligence,  and  so  does  the  min- 
eral kingdom  in  all  its  multiplied  forms.  Do 
they  manufacture  their  own  intelligence  and  shape 
it  to  their  own  peculiar  expressions?  Do  they 
come  by  chance  and  express  themselves  without 
law,  order,  or  design?  Or  is  there  not  a  source 
from  which  they  derive  their  peculiar  virtues? 
Did  you  ever  consider  the  sources  of  thought? 
If  you  have  not,  let  me  suggest  that  we  derive 
certain  classes  of  thought  through  our  five  senses  ; 
thus,  prick  j'our  finger,  pain  ensues  and  thought 
is  evolved ;  a  beautiful  landscape  is  brought  to 
your  notice — your  optic  nerve  carries  the 
shadow  to  the  perceptive  brain  and  thought  is 
evolved  through  the  medium  of  sight;  come  in 
contact  with  an  offensive  odor, — the  olfactory 
nerves  are  excited  and  thought  evolves  from  the 
scent.  The  same  rule  holds  good  through  the 
process   of    hearing, — a    concussion  produces  a 


JESUS  SAW  THEIR  THOUGHTS      339 

sound  wave;  that  strikes  the  auditory  nerves,  you 
hear  the  sound  and  thought  is  produced.  The 
same  is  true  in  regard  to  taste :  sweets  evolve  pleas- 
ant sensations,  acids  unpleasant  and  correspond- 
ing thoughts  are  brought  forth. 

Are  they  all  the  sources  of  thought  .f*  Is  there 
not  a  class  of  thoughts  we  call  reason.?  What 
evolves  that  class  of  brain  cerebrations.?  Do  not 
ideas  flash  upon  the  mind  with  which  we  are  un- 
familiar.? What  causes  that  class  of  brain  ac- 
tion.? They  arise  from  none  of  the  five  senses 
but  seem  to  be  independent  of  our  nervous  sys- 
tem so  far  as  nervous  impressions  are  concerned, 
but  seem  to  be  impressed  from  some  source  discon- 
nected from  the  senses. 

The  power  of  thought  Is  not  confined  to  man 
alone,  but  runs  through  all  animal  nature.  All 
classes,  or  species,  have  their  own  peculiar  ways 
of  thought  expression.  Some  animals  do  not  have 
all  the  five  senses  that  man  has.  There  are 
animals  which  only  have  the  nerves  of  sensation 
developed;  they  can  neither  see  nor  hear,  there- 
fore their  mind  is  limited  to  the  other  senses. 
Other  animals  have  the  nerves  of  sight  developed 
and  a  corresponding  addition  to  their  powers  of 
thought.  "  Animals,"  says  Spencer,  "  in  the  nat- 
ural order  of  being,  are  moved  by  their  senses. 
One  smells  the  odor  of  food;  his  impulses  are  to 
go  and  find  it  and  satisfy  his  hunger ;  sight  is 
developed;  the  appearance  of  an  object  excites 
fear,"  and  so  forth. 


340     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

Let  us  take  one  step  lower  in  the  order  of 
nature  and  consider  the  vegetable  world,  learn  its 
language  as  far  as  we  can  and  see  if  we  cannot 
gain  something  from  even  the  tiny  creeper  that 
always  twines  its  tendrils  against  the  course  of  the 
sun. 

Nature  is  always  constructing  and  always  tear- 
ing down ;  always  aggregating  life  energies  and 
producing  death  results.  All  plants,  like  animals, 
have  their  circulatory  systems ;  both  have  ducts  or 
pores  for  the  passage  of  fluids ;  both  build  them- 
selves from  the  inside  out,  by  cellular  duplication, 
by  the  absorption  of  nutriment ;  one,  mainly 
through  the  stomach  from  food  introduced 
therein ;  the  other,  from  rootlets  and  leaves  by 
food  given  through  their  circulatory  channels; 
both  inhale  and  exhale  gases ;  both  have  electric 
and  magnetic  currents  as  factors  of  their  beings ; 
both  possess  atomic  intelligence  through  their 
structures ;  even  some  plants  have  a  slight  nervous 
system  if  not  mentality.  Plants  placed  in  a  dark 
room  invariably  turn  their  heads  towards  the 
light.  If  a  twining  vine  is  planted  near  a  tree 
or  post,  it  goes  to  that  object  for  support.  This 
phenomenon,  or  mental  sense  is  strikingly  observa- 
ble in  the  convulvus,  a  vine  peculiar  to  India. 
Said  a  correspondent  from  that  country,  "  One 
morning  when  I  was  sitting  on  the  veranda  at  the 
hotel,  I  noticed  the  tendrils  of  a  convulvus  turn- 
ing towards  my  limb.  In  a  very  short  time  they 
had  actually  entwined  it.     I  then  placed  a  pole 


JESUS  SAW  THEIR  THOUGHTS      341 

in  reach  of  the  vine  but  at  least  ten  inches  away 
from  it,  and  the  vine  in  a  very  short  time  turned 
towards  the  pole.  And  during  one  night's  time 
the  pole  was  entwined  about  with  the  tendrils  of 
the  vine." 

Two  trees  may  be  planted  in  close  proximity 
to  each  other ;  the  more  thrifty  will  grow  straight 
up ;  the  other  will  incline  toward  the  open  space, 
seemingly  trying  to  get  away  from  the  other  one 
without  even  being  touched  by  its  branches.  Is 
this  mentality,  vegetable  sense,  atomic  repulsion, 
or  outside  Deific  care?  It  is  certainly  an  intelli- 
gent manifestation  which  shows  more  of  mentality 
than  of  mere  chance. 

Following  the  similarities  of  animal  and  vege- 
table life  further,  we  find  that  both  of  them  come 
from  the  cell  and  both  cells  are  very  nearly  alike 
in  appearance ;  both  live,  die,  and  are  dissolved 
and  go  back  to  their  original  elements ;  both  con- 
tain oxygen,  carbon,  and  hydrogen  but  the  animal 
contains  other  structural  elements  not  in  the  vege- 
table. Both  animal  and  vegetable  expressive  life 
commence  with  the  protoplasm  and  in  the  first 
stages  of  expression  are  very  similar;  yet  they 
soon  diverge  into  wonderful  fields  of  dissimilarity, 
though  through  the  whole  expression  of  life  there 
are  striking  similarities. 

The  sap  of  the  plant  in  the  tree  answers  in  its 
life-giving  qualities  to  the  blood  of  the  ani- 
mal, the  circulation  of  which  commences  as  soon 
as  the  germ  swells  into  active  life;  the  blood  of 


Sm     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

the  plant  circulates  through  the  system  as  the 
blood  of  the  animal  through  the  physical  body  of 
its  being.  Both  of  the  circulating  fluids  are  laden 
with  constructing  material  and  both  distribute 
their  loads  in  the  proper  places  for  the  uses  neces- 
sary. It  is  even  claimed  by  some  eminent  botan- 
ists that  some  plants  have  the  power  of  locomo- 
tion. Agardh  observed  that  "  under  particular 
circumstances,  the  contents  of  the  cells  of  cer- 
tain water  weeds,  being  set  free,  moved  about  with 
considerable  velocity,  which  he  called  zoosporis." 

Says  Mr.  Huxley,  "  At  the  present  day,  innum- 
erable plants  and  free  plant  cells  are  known  to 
pass  the  whole  or  the  greater  part  of  their  lives 
in  an  active  locomotive  condition,  in  no  wise  dis- 
tinguishable from  that  of  one  of  the  simpler  ani- 
mals ;  and  while  in  this  condition,  their  move- 
ments are  to  all  appearances  spontaneous ;  are  as 
much  the  product  of  volition  as  those  of  such  ani- 
mals." 

In  the  year  1837,  Schwan  &  Schleiden  founded 
the  science  of  histology,  or  that  branch  of  anato- 
my which  treats  of  the  ultimate  visible  structure 
of  organisms.  They  discovered  the  important 
fact  of  the  fundamental  unity  of  animal  and  veg- 
etable structure,  and  however  diverse  may  be  the 
fabrics  or  tissues  of  which  their  bodies  are  com- 
posed, the  varied  structure  observed  in  them  re- 
sulted from  the  change  of  cells,  which  in  both 
animals  and  plants  are  similar  when  compared  to- 
gether.    Mr.  Huxley  says,  "  It  must  be  admitted 


JESUS  SAW  THEIR  THOUGHTS      343 

that  plants  may  be  contractile  and  locomotive; 
that,  while  locomotive,  their  movement  may  have 
as  much  appearance  of  spontaneity  as  those  of  the 
lowest  animals,  and  that  many  exhibit  actions 
comparable  to  those  brought  about  by  the  agency 
of  a  nervous  system  in  animals,  and  it  must  be  al- 
lowed to  be  possible  that  further  research  may 
reveal  the  existence  of  something  comparable  to  a 
nervous  system  in  animals.  So  I  know  not  where 
we  can  hope  to  find  any  absolute  distinction  be- 
tween animals  and  plants,  unless  we  turn  to  the 
modes  of  nutrition." 

The  seeming  barriers  between  the  animal  and 
vegetable  kingdoms  were  entirely  broken  down  by 
the  discovery  of  carnivorous  plants,  of  which 
there  are  several  kinds ;  among  which  is  the  Snow- 
dew  (drosera),  which  preys  upon  insects.  Also 
Venus'  fly-trap  (dionsea  muscipula).  These 
plants  have  a  nervous  system  in  their  leaf  struc- 
ture and  also  digestive  qualities.  On  their  leaves 
are  small  sensitive  filaments  which  stand  out  at 
right  angles,  and  which  are  possessed  of  a  quality 
that  attracts  insects.  As  soon  as  an  insect 
touches  one  of  the  leaves,  it  at  once  contracts  and 
encloses  the  unsuspecting  fly  in  its  maw,  which 
secretes  a  kind  of  a  fluid,  and  fulfills  the  office  of 
the  gastric  juice  in  the  stomach  of  animals,  and 
digests  the  prey  as  food. 

Darwin  took  a  lot  of  snow-dew  plants  and 
proved  beyond  question  their  carnivorous  nature. 
He  supplied  a  part  of  them  with  a  small  quantity 


344     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

of  roast  beef,  by  laying  the  same  in  small  bits  on 
their  leaves.  Of  the  fed  plants  69  per  cent,  more 
survived  than  of  the  unfed  ones,  and  their  stems 
weighed  41  per  cent.  more.  The  fed  ones  ex- 
ceeded the  starved  ones  by  the  number  of  their 
seeds  141  per  cent,  and  the  aggregate  weight  of 
their  seeds  279  per  cent.  Harmon  Munk,  in  ex- 
perimenting with  the  same  plant,  found  it  pos- 
sessed with  electric  currents  and  with  electromo- 
tive corresponding  to  the  latent  stimulation  of 
muscles  and  electronus  of  nerves  in  animals. 

Huxley  says,  "There  is  every  reason  to  believe 
that  living  animals  always  respire,  and  in  respir- 
ing absorb  oxygen  and  give  off  carbonic  acid; 
but  the  green  plant  being  exposed  to  the  light 
of  day  or  the  electric  light,  the  quantity  of  oxy- 
gen evolved  in  consequence  of  the  decomposition 
of  carbonic  acid,  by  a  special  operation  which 
green  plants  possess,  exceeds  that  absorbed  in  the 
current  respiratory  process."  The  green  power 
in  plants  is  derived  from  the  abundance  of  chloro- 
phyl  in  their  leaf  structure. 

It  was  ascertained  by  John  Ray  of  Lancaster, 
and  others,  that  there  are  certain  animals  which 
possess  the  vegetable  functions  of  containing  and 
utilizing  plant  chlorophyl,  that  they  have  the 
power;  and  the  chlorophyl  actually  served  to 
decompose  carbonic  acid,  the  same  as  plants ;  and 
that  the  same  process  attended  and  supported  the 
life  of  these  animals  in  the  use  of  chlorophyl  as  in 
plant  life.     Plants  inhale  and  exhale  as  animals. 


JESUS  SAW  THEIR  THOUGHTS     345 

The  cuticle,  in  plants,  is  provided  with  a  great 
number  of  oval  holes,  which  Lindel  calls  breathing 
pores.  They  are  always  over  the  green  pulp  with 
several  intercellular  passages,  and  when  open,  the 
air  has  free  access  to  the  green  pulp  of  the  leaf. 
This  answers  the  same  to  plants  that  lungs  do  to 
animals.  There  are  two  little  oblong  bladders 
placed  parallel  with  each  other;  and  having  the 
power  of  contraction  and  expansion,  they  serve 
in  their  offices  the  same  as  the  two  lobes  of  the 
lungs  in  animals ;  they  have  the  power  of  closing 
the  pores  in  wet  weather  and  opening  them  in  dry  ; 
they  act  as  the  needs  of  the  plant  require.  There 
is,  what  Mr.  Huxley  hints  at,  a  kind  of  an  inde- 
pendent kingdom  between  animal  and  vegetable 
life,  which  he  calls  "  No  Man's  Land,"  a  kind  of  a 
connecting;  link  between  the  two  king-doms.  He 
gives  us  evidence  in  verification  of  his  position  as 
follows :  "  So  far  as  form  is  concerned,  plants  and 
animals  are  not  separable,  and  in  many  cases  it  is 
a  mere  matter  of  convenience  whether  we  call  a 
given  organism  an  animal  or  a  plant.  There  is  a 
living  body  called  Aethealium  Speticum  which  ap- 
pears upon  decaying  vegetable  substances ;  and, 
in  one  of  its  forms,  is  common  upon  the  surface 
of  tanpits.  In  this  condition,  it  is  to  all  intents 
and  purposes  a  fungus,  and  formerly  was  always 
regarded  as  such ;  but  the  remarkable  investiga- 
tions of  Le  Bary  have  shown  that  in  another  con- 
dition the  Aethealium  is  actually  a  locomotive 
creature  and   takes   in   solid   matter  upon   which 


346     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

apparently  it  feeds ;  thus  exhibiting  the  most  char- 
acteristic features  of  animality."  Mr.  Huxley 
then  asks,  "  Is  this  a  plant?  Or  is  it  an  animal? 
Or  is  it  both?     Or  is  it  neither?  " 

Some  decide  In  favor  of  the  last  supposition 
and  establish  an  intermediate  kingdom,  a  sort  of 
biological  "  No  Man's  Land."  In  fact,  the  evi- 
dence is  incontrovertible  that,  while  plants  belong 
to  a  separate  division  from  the  animal,  there  is  a 
striking  relation  between  them ;  evidencing  beyond 
a  doubt,  that  in  the  evolution  of  matter  from  the 
simple  to  the  complex,  atomic  affinity  and  natural 
chemistry  built  up  the  differences  by  adaptation, 
and  not  design.  The  learned  Mr.  Huxley  is  trying 
to  build  up  a  pet  theory  of  evolution  through  en- 
vironment, conditions,  and  the  survival  of  the  fit- 
test, rather  than  recognizing  In  all  nature  an 
intelligence  fitting  every  thing  for  its  place  In  the 
universe.  The  Darwinian  theory  of  evolution  is 
that  the  higher  manifestations  of  nature  have 
grown  out  of  the  lower  manifestations  of  life, 
without  one  particle  of  evidence  to  sustain  his  po- 
sition. We  admit  that  conditions  may  modify  the 
nature  of  some  animals  and  plants,  and  that  in 
species  the  rule  is  the  survival  of  the  fittest,  and 
that  under  certain  manipulations  some  animals 
seem  to  have  changed  or  modified  their  natures 
by  their  surroundings,  breeding,  and  training; 
but  science  has  never  pointed  out  one  instance 
where  one  species  of  aimals  have  changed  their 
natures  and  grown  into  another  species.     Until 


JESUS  SAW  THEIR  THOUGHTS     347 

that  is  done  the  Darwinian  theory  of  evolution 
must  stand  as  a  figment  of  a  fertile  imagination. 

While  evolution  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  con- 
dition is  a  beautiful  reality  when  applied  to  the 
moral  and  physical  condition  of  a  part  of  our 
race,  yet  in  no  case,  in  all  the  school  of  nature, 
have  we  learned  that  one  species  of  animals  has 
grown  out  of  another.  The  monkey  was  always 
a  monkey,  the  baboon  a  baboon,  the  bear  a  bear, 
the  wolf  a  wolf,  and  man  a  man.  There  are 
gradations  in  the  order  of  life  brought  about 
through  atomic  intelligence  but  never  by  the 
growth  of  one  species  out  of  another.  The  ten- 
dency of  even  cultivated  nature  is  to  return  to  its 
lower  condition  and  not  to  the  higher.  If  the  cul- 
tivation of  man's  moral  nature  were  neglected  and 
his  intellect  allowed  to  remain  untrained  how  long 
would  it  be  before  he  would  lapse  into  the  state 
of  savagery  and  contend  with  the  beast  for  the 
mastery  of  the  caves  again? 

Three  simple  gases,  carbon,  oxygen,  and  hydro- 
gen, form  all  the  woody  structure  of  every  tree, 
shrub,  plant,  in  existence.  The  seeming  differ- 
ence in  the  fibrous  substances  of  different  vege- 
table growths  is  due  to  the  different  arrange- 
ments of  the  molecules  that  form  the  structures; 
and  those  molecules  that  build  the  fibers  of  all  the 
different  vegetable  growths  are  always,  for  each 
plant,  shrub,  or  tree,  compounded  just  alike. 
Does  all  this  order  come  by  chance,  by  cultiva- 
tion, by  one  thing  growing  out  of  another?     Is 


348     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

there  not  a  superintending  intelligence  in  them 
all?  Every  manifestation  of  nature  carries  with 
it  its  own  intelligence.  That  proposition  is  too 
plain  for  controversy.  What  is  that  diffusive  in- 
telligence? It  is  every  where  and  in  every  thing, 
whether  mineral,  vegetable,  or  animal.  Do  you 
want  to  name  it  God?     Then  do  so. 

Nature  possesses  all  of  the  forces  of  the  uni- 
verse and  man  is  a  part  of  the  universe.  Every 
part  of  the  universe  is  accompanied  and  controlled 
by  intelligences.  The  intelligences  of  nature  are 
forces  of  nature  on  the  same  principle  that  elec- 
tricity and  magnetism  are  forces  of  nature.  Man 
has  manufactured  certain  instruments  and  charged 
them  with  certain  elements  or  chemicals  so  they 
can  convey  thoughts  by  wireless  telegraphy  from 
place  to  place  and  from  person  to  person ;  but  to 
do  that,  the  instruments  at  both  extremes  must  be 
in  accord. 

Human  thoughts  are  intelligences  residing  in 
nature,  for  it  is  said  that  no  one  has  an  inde- 
pendent thought,  that  every  thought  that  comes 
from  the  mind  of  man  has  been  thought  over  and 
over  again  by  other  minds.  Mental  telepathy, 
that  is,  the  power  of  two  minds  to  impress  each 
other  though  they  be  far  apart  is  an  established 
fact.  Thoughts  are  things  most  of  which  are 
made  by  picturing  themselves  on  the  mind.  Elim- 
inate from  your  imagination  abstract  reason,  and 
see  if  you  can  think  without  the  thought  being 
a  picture  on  your  mentality.     Can  you  do  it? 


JESUS  SAW  THEIR  THOUGHTS      349 

Think  of  Mary  picking  daisies  from  the  sward. 
Can  you  do  it  without  seeing  the  girl,  the  sward, 
and  the  flowers?  Can  you  think  of  a  horse  with- 
out the  mental  picture  of  the  animal,  or  can  you 
think  of  any  other  object  without  picturing  the 
object  itself?  Did  you  ever  speak  of  something 
to  a  friend  to  have  that  friend  reply,  "  I  was 
thinking  of  the  same  thing?" 

I  think  I  have  demonstrated  sufficiently  that 
life  and  intelligence  are  factors  of  nature 
and  on  the  same  principle  thoughts  that  are  man- 
ifested through  the  battery  of  the  brain  belong 
to  and  are  a  part  of  nature.  As  an  element  they 
exist  independently  of  man  who  is  used  simply 
as  an  instrument  through,  which  thoughts  are 
manifested  in  the  form  of  speech,  gestures, 
actions,  and  the  many  ways  by  which  human 
intelligences  are  expressed. 

This  brings  us  back  to  the  first  proposition: 
What  is  a  thought?  Answer:  It  is  a  property 
of  nature  which  expresses  itself  through  all  ani- 
mal existences  but  in  a  less  demonstrative  form 
in  the  vegetable  kingdom,  also  reaching  into  the 
mineral  kingdom  (for  minerals  did  not  chance  of 
themselves).  On  the  same  principle  vegetation 
did  not  manufacture  the  intelligence  that  builds 
all  the  multiplied  forms  of  vegetable  life  from 
three  simple  gases.  Neither  did  all  the  various 
kinds  of  animals,  birds,  and  beasts  manufacture 
their  own  intelligences.  Did  the  babe  manufac- 
ture its  first  thouffht  of  mother?     Did  the  brain 


350     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

of  Newton  manufacture  the  thoughts  that 
brought  forth  his  Principia,  the  greatest  mental 
effort  of  man  ?  Digested  thoughts  come  through 
the  manifestations  of  the  brain.  The  brains  of 
all  men  are  composed  of  the  same  materials.  If 
that  is  true,  and  it  is,  or  science  is  a  liar  and 
mental  philosophy  a  cheat,  and  if  it  is  also 
true  that  thoughts  are  manufactured  by  the 
brain  of  man,  then  the  different  brain  machines, 
being  composed  alike,  would  manufacture  the 
same  kind  of  thoughts  and  use  the  same  ex- 
pressions. 

The  brain  is  that  part  of  the  central  nervous 
axis  which  is  contained  in  the  cavity  of  the  skull. 
It  is  divided  and  subdivided  into  a  great  many 
parts  and  subparts.  The  principal  divisions  are 
the  Medulla  oblongata,  pons,  cerebellum  and 
cerebrum.  There  are  also  the  right  and  left 
hemispheres,  lobes,  and  convolutions,  or  folds. 
The  divisions  and  convolutions  are  divided  by 
fissures  of  more  or  less  extent,  differing  in  the 
forces  or  depressions  in  different  individuals ;  as 
the  weight,  particular  developments,  and  texture 
of  the  brain  differ  in  different  people;  hence, 
different  casts  of  minds. 

The  brain,  according  to  the  analysis  of  Vaque- 
lin,  consists  of  an  emulsive  mixture  of  albumen, 
fatty  matter,  and  water,  holding  in  solution  saline 
and  other  matter  common  to  it  with  other  tissues. 

The  following  table  gives  the  result  of  his 
analysis ; 


JESUS  SAW  THEIR  THOUGHTS     351 

Albumen 7 .  00 

Cerebral  fat    ,^f^"^       ^'I^) 5.23 

(stearine,  4.53) 

Phosphorus    1.50 

Osmazome     1.12 

Acids,  salts,  sulphur 5.15 

Water   80.00 


100.00 


The  Medulla  oblongata  contains  more  cerebral 
fat  but  less  albumen,  osmazome,  and  water. 

Premy's  analysis  confirmed  that  of  Vaquelin's 
and  showed  the  following  proportions : 

Albumen 7 .  00 

Water    80.00 

Fatty   matter 5  .  00 

He  extracted  from  the  fatty  matter  the  follow- 
ing principles:  1.  Cerebric  acid,  a  white,  granular, 
crystalline  substance,  containing  no  sulphur,  a 
little  phosphorus,  66  per  cent,  of  carbon ;  2.  Oleo- 
phosphoric  acid,  separated  from  the  cerebric  by 
its  solubility  in  ether,  containing  about  2  per 
cent,  of  phosphorus  in  the  condition  of  phosphoric 
acid  and  combined  with  saline;  3.  Cholesterine, 
the  same  as  that  obtained  from  bile;  and  traces 
of  saline,  margarine  and  fatty  acids. 

I  assert  that  the  brain  element  in  all  men  is 
made  of  the  same  material  and  is  the  instrument 
through  which  the  thought  elements  of  nature 


352     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

manifest  themselves.  If  all  men's  brains  are 
alike,  why  do  they  not  all  think  alike?  We  might 
answer  that  by  asking  another  question.  If  all 
magnetic  batteries  are  alike  why  do  they  not 
send  all  messages  alike.''  The  answer  to  both  is: 
Because  the  powers  manifesting  the  different  in- 
telligences are  different  agencies.  To  be  plainer, 
the  brain  of  man  is  a  battery  through  which 
thought  fluids  are  transmitted  in  intelligent  forms 
to  enable  men  to  communicate  with  each  other, 
and  that  enables  the  race  to  take  care  of  itself. 

We  have  demonstrated  that  there  is  a  universal 
intelligence  or  universal  thought  element,  as  there 
is  universal  electricity.  The  brain  is  the  instru- 
ment through  which  a  degree  of  that  intelligence 
manifests  itself.  As  that  brain  instrument  is 
trained  and  developed,  so  does  that  intelligence 
or  thought-force  act  through  it.  If  one  brain 
is  schooled  to  the  digestion  of  criminal  thoughts, 
the  man  will  think  of  criminal  things  and  be  a 
criminal,  for  a  man  is  as  he  thinks.  If  he  keeps 
his  mind  on  ennobling  thoughts,  he  will  act  nobly 
and  be  a  noble  man.  The  brain  instrument  of 
Jesus  was  receptive  to  the  great  thought  waves 
that  pass  from  brain  to  brain,  hence  he  could 
read  the  thoughts  of  men  as  many  people  can  do 
in  this  age,  and  as  has  been  done  in  all  ages 
and  among  all  spiritually  trained  minds. 

There  are  many  ways  of  impressing  the  brain 
instrument  of  man  with  living  thoughts.  In  the 
first  place  let  us  remember  it  is  the  spirit  which 


JESUS  SAW  THEIR  THOUGHTS     353 

thinks  and  not  the  flesh.  The  spirit  that  is  within 
an  individual  may  receive  thoughts  within  and 
of  itself,  for  no  man  can  think  of  a  thing  that 
has  no  reality  behind  it,  or  behind  the  thought. 
Or  thoughts  may  be  impressed  through  some  or 
all  of  the  five  senses,  or  by  human  agencies,  or  by 
outside  spiritual  agencies,  for  men  are  always 
in  company.  No  man  is  ever  alone.  Silently 
by  his  side  is  a  walking  spirit  always  keeping 
vigil  over  him  whether  he  is  asleep  or  awake. 
Those  attending  spirits  are  attracted  to  him  by 
his  thoughts  and  the  manner  of  his  life,  and  they 
to  a  great  measure  mold  his  conduct  and  give 
cast  to  his  character.  Spirits  talk  with  each 
other  and  communicate  intelligences.  The  spirit 
in  a  man  in  this  sphere  of  life  is  constantly  giv- 
ing out  intelligences  to  spirits  in  the  next  con- 
dition of  life  and  spirits  of  the  next  condition 
of  life  often  impress  the  spirit  in  the  body  of 
mortal  man.  Men  should  be  as  careful  in  select- 
ing the  spirits  about  them  as  they  are  in  choos- 
ing earth  associates. 

The  Jews  were  governed,  while  they  were  as 
one  sect,  by  what  their  prophets  and  high  priests 
said;  but  in  time,  like  all  other  people  who  are 
fed  on  speculative  religion,  they  divided  them- 
selves into  sects.  The  rich  and  opulent  Jews 
did  not  believe  in  a  future  existence;  they  were 
called  Sadducees.  The  Pharisees,  of  which  sect 
Paul  was  a  member,  believed  in  a  life  after  death. 
While  the  Essenes,   of  which  sect  Jesus  was  a 


354     LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

member  (if  he  was  not  actually  enrolled  as  a 
member,  he  taught  the  same  doctrine  and  im- 
pressed the  same  morality  on  the  minds  of  his 
followers),  believed  that  the  body  is  corrupt- 
ible, and  that  the  matter  of  which  the  body 
is  composed  is  not  permanent  but  that  the  souls 
of  men  are  immortal  and  live  forever.  Josephus 
was  a  Pharisee,  which  sect  had  all  the  intolerance 
of  bigotry,  and  those  who  did  not  believe  as 
they  did,  or  as  they  would  have  them,  were  to 
suffer  eternal  punishment. 

The  religion  of  olden  times  was  built  on  the 
theory  that  the  chief  duty  of  man  was  to  serve 
God;  some  in  one  way  and  some  in  another;  if 
the  service  was  not  of  the  prescribed  form,  the 
delinquent  incurred  the  personal  displeasure  of 
God  and  dire  consequences  were  the  result;  but 
the  later  conception  is  that  "  he  who  serves  man 
the  best  serves  God  the  best,"  and  the  highest 
type  of  religion  is  that  of  humanity.  It  has 
taken  thousands  of  years  to  get  the  people  out 
of  the  idea  of  the  punishments  of  God  and  into 
the  better  conception  of  becoming  like  God  in 
kindness,  goodness,  pity,  charity,  love,  and  doing 
no  harm  that  will  require  a  forgiveness. 

Had  the  Master  and  the  apostles  at  once  ig- 
nored all  the  fallacies  of  the  people  of  their  age, 
their  teachings  would  never  have  been  heard  of 
by  the  world,  and  we  would  to-day  be  floundering 
along  in  the  streams  of  life  as  they  did  in  the 
Dark  Ages,  when  the  weak  were  the  prey  of  the 


JESUS  SAW  THEIR  THOUGHTS      355 

strong,  and  death  marked  the  man  who  had  a 
thought  that  reached  beyond  the  Vatican  of 
Rome. 

The  advanced  thinkers  and  the  great  reformers 
of  the  world  could  only  make  gradual  impressions 
on  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  many  a  stake  has 
illuminated  the  face  of  heaven  with  those  martyrs 
to  human  progress.  We  are  not  out  from  under 
the  cloud  yet,  but  that  time  is  coming,  with  each 
one  doing  a  little  good;  in  time  the  sun  of  the 
true  and  undefiled  religion  before  God,  which 
consists  in  visiting  the  widow  and  orphan  in 
their  afflictions,  in  ministering  to  the  sick,  bury- 
ing the  dead,  and  keeping  one's  self  unspotted 
from  the  world,  will  shine.  It  will  not  be  long 
until  the  Christian  religion  will  be  a  religion  of 
common  sense.  When  that  day  shall  arrive  the 
masses  will  be  enrolled  on  the  list  of  Christian 
followers. 


APPENDIX 


357 


APPENDIX 
THE  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Sorry  is  the  task  of  anyone  who  attempts  to 
write  the  life  of  the  Master,  from  the  fact  that  it 
is  so  shrouded  in  the  mystery  thrown  around  it  by 
the  many,  many  books  relating  to  him  that 
flooded  the  country  at  the  time  our  present  Can- 
onical Gospels  were  being  produced.  For  a  can- 
did mind  it  is  difficult  to  say  if  there  ever  was  a 
true  life  of  Jesus  written.  Let  those  who  pick 
up  the  New  Testament  with  reverential  care  as  the 
only  true  revelation  from  God  as  expository  of 
his  will  concerning  his  Son,  take  into  considera- 
tion that  our  present  New  Testament  writings 
have  been  culled  from  time  to  time  out  of  a  mass 
of  Gospels,  Acts,  Epistles,  and  Apocalypses  to 
no  less  a  number  than  one  hundred  and  forty-six, 
and  that  the  culling  was  done  by  different  per- 
sons according  to  their  conceptions  of  what  was 
revealed  history  and  what  was  not,  a  part  of 
which  was  done  hundreds  of  years  after  the  com- 
mencement of  our  era. 

Do  not  condemn,  but  consider  that  those  mul- 
tifarious writings  are  the  strongest  proofs  we 
could  have  of  the  genuineness,  sublimity  and 
grandeur  of  the  mission  of  Jesus.  The  twenty- 
seven  books  that  we  have  of  the  New  Testament 
359 


360  APPENDIX 

might  be  forgeries  if  standing  alone  and  unsup- 
ported, but  it  is  incredible  to  suppose  that  one 
hundred  and  forty-six  different  writers  at  differ- 
ent places  and  at  different  times,  would  all  com- 
mit forgeries  to  build  up  a  myth,  or  found  a  phil- 
osophy that  met  with  no  other  approval  than  that 
of  martyrdom. 

While  we  may  regret  that  bold  and  selfish  men 
have  assumed  to  abridge,  cull,  and  reject  such 
a  large  mass  of  books  and  writings  relating 
to  Jesus,  thereby  denying  us  the  right  to  read 
and  select  for  ourselves  as  we  do  concerning 
other  men  and  events,  they,  with  all  their  cun- 
ning and  manipulation,  have  not  been  strong 
enough  to  dim  the  lustre  of  Jesus. 

I  take  the  following  list  of  the  lost  Apocryphal 
books  from  "  The  New  Testament  Apocrypha," 
by  Rev.  William  Heber  Wright,  as  an  appendix 
to  the  Bible,  under  the  title  of  "  Bible  Readers' 
Aids."  He  only  claims  this  to  be  a  partial  list 
of  the  Apocrypha  of  the  New  Testament. 

1.  History  of  Joseph  The  Carpenter. 

2.  Gospel  of  Nicodemus. 

3.  Gospel  of  Peter.  This  Gospel  was  dis- 
covered in  a  tomb  in  Egypt  in  the  year  1886 
and  published  in  1902. 

4.  The  Assumption  of  Mary. 

5.  Correspondence  between  Abgar,  King  of 
Edessa,  and  Jesus. 

6.  The  Story  of  Veronica. 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  361 

7.  The  Giving  up  of  Pilate. 

8.  The  Death  of  Pilate. 

9.  The  Narrative  of  Joseph  of  Arimathea. 

10.  The  Saviour's  Revenge. 

11.  Clement  of  Alexandria,  in  the  third  cen- 
tury, and  other  writers,  have  preserved  frag- 
ments of  the  so-called  Apocalypse  of  Peter. 

12.  The  Apocalypse  of  Paul  is  a  description 
of  what  that  apostle  saw  and  heard  when  caught 
up  into  the  third  heaven.      (II  Cor.  12.) 

13.  Among  the  epistolary  writings  is  the 
Epistle  of  Barnabas.  The  original  Greek  text 
forms  a  portion  of  that  celebrated  Sinattic  MS. 
discovered  by  Tichendorf  in  1859. 

14.  The  Epistle  of  Clement.  The  writer  in 
this  epistle  incidentally  alludes  to  the  martyrdom 
of  Paul  at  Rome  and  of  Peter,  but  does  not  give 
the  place  of  Peter's  execution. 

15.  There  was  also  a  second  epistle  of  Cle- 
ment, or  at  least  an  epistle  attributed  to  him. 

16.  An  epistle  under  the  title  of  "  Shepherd  of 
Harmas." 

17.  The  Didache  of  the  twelve  Apostles. 

The  following  list  of  lost  Apocryphal  books 
I  take  from  "  The  Apocryphal  Books  of  the 
New  Testament  "  of  1901. 

A 

18.  The  Acts  of  Andrew.  Euseb.  Hist. 
Eccl.  I.  3  c.  25.  Philastr.  Hares.  87.  Epl- 
phan.  Hceres.  47  §  1.     Hceres.  61  §  I.  et  Hceres. 


362  APPENDIX 

63,  §  2.     Gelas,  in  Decret.  apud.  Concil.  Semct. 
torn.  4.  p.  1260. 

19—20.  Books  under  the  name  of  Andrew. 
August,  contr.  Adversar.  Leg.  et  I.  c.  20.  et 
Innocent  I.  Epis,  3  ad  Exuper.  Tholos.  Episc. 
§  7. 

21.  The  Gospel  of  Andrew.  Gelas.  in  De- 
cret. 

22.  A  Gospel  under  the  name  of  Apelles. 
Hieron.  Pros  fat.  in  Comment,  in  Matt. 

23.  The  Gospel  according  to  the  Twelve 
Apostles.  Origen.  Homil.  in  Luc.  i.  1.  Ambros. 
Comment,  in  Luc.  i.  1.  et  Hieron.  Prosfat.  in  Com- 
ment, in  Matt. 

B 

24.  The  Gospel  of  Barnabas.  Gelas.  in  De- 
cret. 

25.  The  Writings  of  Bartholomew  the 
Apostle.  Dionys.  Areopagit.  de  Theol.  Myst. 
c.  1. 

26.  The  Gospel  of  Bartholomew.  Hieron. 
Catul.  Script.  Eccles.  in  Pantoen.  et  Prcefat.  in 
Comm.  in  Matt.     Gelas.  in  Decret. 

27.  The  Gospel  of  Basilides.  Orig.  in  Luc. 
i.  1.  Ambros.  in  Lu£.  i.  1.  Hieron.  Prcefat.  in 
Comm.  in  Matt. 

C 

28.  The  Gospel  of  Cerinthus.  Epiphan. 
Hares.  51.  §  7. 

29.  The     Revelation     of    Cerinthus.     Caias 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  363 

Fresh.  Rom.  lib.  Disput,  apitd.  Euseb.  Hist.  Eccl. 
1.  3.  c.  28. 

30.  An  Epistle  of  Christ  to  Peter  and  Paul. 
August,  de  Consens.  Evang.  1,  1.  c.  9.  19. 

31.  Some  other  Books  under  the  name  of 
Christ.     Ibid,  c,  3. 

32.  An  Epistle  of  Christ,  produced  by  the 
Manichees.     August,  contr.  Faust,  1,  28.  c.  4. 

33.  A  Hymn,  which  Christ  taught  his  dis- 
ciples.    Epis.  ad  Ceret.  Episc, 

E 

34.  The  Gospel  according  to  the  Egyptians. 
Clem.  Alex.  Strom.  1.  3.  p.  452,  465.  Origen. 
in  Luc.  il  I.  Hieron.  Prcef.  in  Comm.  in  Matt. 
Epiphan.     Hoeres.  62  §  2. 

35.  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  made  use  of 
by  the  Ebionites.     Epiphan.     Hceres.  30.  §  16. 

36.  The  Gospel  of  the  Ebionites.  Ephan. 
Hceres.  30.  §  13. 

37.  The  Gospel  of  the  Encratites.  Epi- 
phan. Hceres.  46.  1. 

38.  The  Gospel  of  Eve.  Epipha/n.  Hceres. 
26  §  2. 

H 

39.  The  Gospel  according  to  the  Hebrews. 
Hegesipp.  lib.  Comment,  apud  Euseb.  Hist.  Eccl. 
1.  c.  22.  Clem.  Alex.  Strom.  1.  2.  p.  380. 
Origen.  Tract.  8.  in  Matt.  xix.  19.  et  1.  2,  Joan. 
p.  58.  Euseb.  Hist.  Eccl.  1.  3.  c.  25,  27,  et  39. 
Jerome  in  many  places,  as  above. 


364  APPENDIX 

40.  The  Book  of  the  Helkesaites.     Euseh. 
Hist.  Eccl.  1.  6.  c.  38. 

41.  The  false  Gospels  of  Hesychius.    Hieron. 
Prcefat.  in  Evang.  ad  Damas.  Gelas.  in  Decret. 


42.  The  Book  of  James.  Origen.  Comm.  in 
Matt.  xiii.  55,  56. 

43.  Books  forged  and  published  under  the 
name  of  James.  Epiphan.  Hceres.  30.  §  23. 
Innocent  I.  Epist.  3.  ad  Exuper.  Tholos.  Episc. 
§  7. 

44.  The  Acts  of  John.  Euseh.  Hist.  Eccl. 
1.  3.  c.  25.  Athanas.  in  Synops.  §  76.  Philastr. 
Hceres.  87.  Epiphan.  Hceres.  47.  §  1.  August, 
contr.  Advers.  Leg.  1.  1.  c.  20. 

45-46.  Books  under  the  name  of  John. 
Epiphan.  Hceres.  30.  §  23.  et  Innocent  I.  ibid. 

47.  A  Gospel  under  the  name  of  Jude.  Epi- 
phan. Hceres.  38.  §  1. 

48.  A  Gospel  under  the  name  of  Judas  Isca- 
RioT.     Iren.  advers.  Hceres.  1.  1.  c.  35. 

49.  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles  by  Leucius. 
August,  lib.  de  Fide  contr.  Manich.  c.  38. 

50.  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles  by  Lentitus. 
August,  de  Act.  cum  Fcelic.  Manich.  1.  2.  c.  6. 

51.  The  Books  of  Lentitus.  Gelas.  in  De- 
cret. 

52.  The  Acts  under  the  Apostles'  name  by 
Leontius.     August,  de  Fide  contr.  Manich.  c.  5. 

53.  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles  by  Leuthon. 
Hieron.  Epist.  ad  Chromat.  et  Heliodor. 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  365 

54).  The  false  Gospels,  published  by  Lucianus. 
Hieron.  Proefat.  in  Evang.  ad  Damas. 

M 

55.  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles  used  by  the 
Manichees.  August,  lib.  cont.  Adimant  Mun- 
ich, c.  17. 

56.  The  Gospel  of  Marcion.  Tertull.  adv. 
Marcion.  lib.  4.  c.  2.  et  4.  Ephiphan.  Hceres.  42 
Prcem. 

57.  Books  under  the  name  of  Matthew. 
EpipTian.  Hceres.  30.   §   23. 

58.  The  Gospel  of  Matthias.  Orig.  Comm. 
in  Luc.  i.  1.  Euseh.  Hist.  Eccl.  1.  3.  c.  25.  Am- 
hros.  in  Luc.  i.  1.  Hieron.  Proefat.  in  Comment 
in  Matt. 

59.  The  Traditions  of  Matthias.  Clem. 
Alex.  Strom.  1.  2.  p.  380.  1.  3.  p.  436.  et  1.  7.  p. 
748. 

60.  A  Book  under  the  name  of  Matthias. 
Innocent  7.  ibid. 

61.  The  Gospel  of  Merinthus.  Epiphan. 
Hares.  51.  §  7. 

N 

62.  The  Gospel  according  to  the  Nazarenes. 
See  above  concerning  the  Gospel  according  to  the 
Hebrews. 

P 

63.  The  Acts,  of  Paul  and  Thecla.  Tertull. 
de  Baptism,  c.  17.  Hieron.  Catal.  Script.  Eccl. 
in  Luc.     Gelas.  in  Decret. 


366  APPENDIX 

64.  The  Acts  of  Paul.  Orig.  de  Princip.  1. 
1.  c.  2.  et  1.  21.  in  Joan.  torn.  2.  p.  298.  Euseb. 
Hist.  Eccl.  1.  3.  c.  3.  et  25.  Philastr.  Hoeres.  87. 

65.  The  Preaching  of  Paul  (and  Peter). 
Lactant  de  Ver.  Sap.  1.  4.  c.  21.  Script,  anonym, 
ad  calcem  0pp.  Cypr.,  and,  according  to  some, 
Clem.  Alex.  Strom.  1,  6.  p.  636. 

66.  A  Book  under  the  name  of  Paul.  Cy- 
prian. Epist.  27. 

67.  The  Revelation  of  Pauh  Epiphan. 
Hoeres.  38.  §  2.  August.  Tract.  98.  in  Joann.  in 
fin.  Gelas.  in  Decret. 

68.  The  Gospel  of  Perfection.  Epiphan. 
Hceres.  26.  §  2. 

69.  The  Acts  of  Peter.  Euseb.  Hist.  Eccl. 
1.  3.  c.  3.  Athanas,  vn  Synops.  S.  Scriptur. 
§  75.  Philastr.  Hceres.  27.  Hieron.  catal.  Script. 
Eccl.  in  Petr.     Epiphan.  Hceres.  30.  §  15. 

70.  The  Doctrine  of  Peter.  Orig.  Proem,  in 
lib.  de  Princip. 

71.  The  Gospel  of  Peter.  Scrip,  lib.  de 
Evang.  Petri.,  apud.  Euseb.  Hist.  Eccl.  1.  6.  c. 
13.  TertuU.  adv.  Marc.  1.  4.  c,  5.  Orig.  Com- 
ment, in  Matt.  xiii.  55,  56,  tom.  i.  p.  223. 
Euseb.  Hist.  Eccl.  1.  3.  c.  3.  et  25.  Hieron.  Catal. 
Script.  Eccles.  in  Petr. 

72.  The  judgment  of  Peter.  Ruffin.  Ex- 
posit,  in  Symbol.  Apostol.  §  36.  Hieron.  Catal. 
Script.  Eccles.  in  Petr. 

73.  The  Preaching  of  Peter.  Heracl.  apud. 
Orig.  1.  14.  in  Joan.  Clem.  Alex.  Strom.  1.  1.  p. 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  367 

357,  1.  2.  p.  390.  1.  6.  p.  635,  636,  et  678. 
Theodot.  Byzant.  in  Excerpt,  p.  899.  ad  cede. 
0pp.  Clem.  Alex.  Lactant.  de  Ver.  Sap.  1.  4.  c.  21. 
Euseb.  Hist.  Eccles.  1.  3.  c.  3.  et  Hieron.  Catal. 
Script.  Eccl.  in  Petr. 

74.  The  Revelation  of  Peter.  Clem.  Alex, 
lib.  Hypotypos,  apud.  Euseb.  Hist.  Eccl.  1.  6.  c. 
14.  Theodot.  Byzant.  in  Excerpt,  p.  806,  807. 
ad.  calc.  0pp.  Clem.  Alex.  Euseb.  Hist.  Eccl.  1. 
3.  c.  3.  et  25.  Hieron  Catal.  Script.  Eccl.  in 
Petr. 

75.  Books  under  the  name  of  Peter.  Irmo- 
cent.  I.  Epist.  3  ad  Exuper.  Tholos.  Epist.  §  7. 

76.  The  Acts  of  Philip.     Gelas.  in  Decret. 

77.  The  Gospel  of  Philip.  Epiphan.  Hceres. 
26.  §  13. 

s 

78.  The  Gospel  of  Scythianus.  Cyrill. 
Catech.  v. 

1.  §  22.  et  Epiphan.  Hceres.  66.  §  2. 

79.  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles  by  Selsucus. 
Hieron.  Epist.  ad.  Chromat.  et  Heliodor. 

80.  The  Revelation  of  Stephen.  Gelas.  in 
Decret. 

T 

81.  The  Gospel  of  Titan.  Euseb.  Hist.  Eccl. 
1.  4.  c.  29. 

82.  The  Gospel  of  Thaddaeus.  Galas,  i/n 
Decret. 

83.  The    Catholic    Epistle    of   Themison   the 


368  APPENDIX 

Montanist.     Apollon.      lib.      cont.      Cataphryg. 
apud  Euseh.  Hist.  Eccl.  1.  5.  c.  18. 

84.  The  Acts  of  Thomas.  Epiphan.  Hoeras. 
47.  §  1.  et  61.  §  1. 

85.  Athanas.  in  Synops.  S.  Script.  §  76.  et 
Galas,  in  Decret. 

86.  The  Gospel  of  Thomas.  Orig.  in  Luc.  i. 
1.  Euseh.  Hist.  Eccl.  1.  c.  3.  25.  Cyrill.  Catech. 
IV.  §  36.  et  Catech.  VI.  §  31.  Ambros.  in  Luc. 
§  i.  1.  Athan.  in  Synops.  S.  Script.  §  76. 
Hieron.  Prof,  in  Comment,  in  Mattli.  Gelas.  in 
Decret. 

87.  88,  89,  90.  Books  under  the  name  of 
Thomas.  Innocent  1.  Epist.  3.  ad  Exuper. 
Tholes.  Episc.  §  7. 

91.  The  Gospel  of  Truth  made  use  of  by  the 
Valentinians.     Iren.  adv.  Hoeres.  1.  3.  c.  11. 

V 

92.  The  Gospel  of  Valentinus.  Tertull.  de 
Proescript.  adv.  Hoerets.  c.  49. 

From  wrecks  of  the  despoilers,  who  deemed  it 
more  expedient  to  destroy  evidence  which  existed 
in  the  now  lost  writings  concerning  Jesus,  than 
to  tolerate  their  existence,  we  have  twenty-three 
books,  in  the  existing  Apocrypha,  as  follows: 

CHAPTERS. 

Mary 8 

Protevangelion    16 

I.  Infancy    22 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  369 

CHAPTERS. 

II.  Infancy    4 

Christ  and  Abgarus   22 

The  Apostles'  Creed 1 

Laoniceans    1 

Paul  and  Seneca l* 

Paul  and  Thecla 12 

I.  Corinthians    23 

II.  Corinthians    4 

Barnabas    15 

Ephesians     4 

Magnesians     4 

Trallians     4 

Romans     3 

Philadelphians      S 

Smyrnaeans    3 

Polycarp     3 

Philippians    4 

I.  Hermas  —  Vision    4 

II.  Hermas  —  Commands     12 

III.  Hermas  Similitudes    10 

Of  those  books  Dr.  Talmage  wrote :  "  Christ 
was  the  joyous  boy  of  the  fields.  We  are  not 
permitted  to  think  that  the  shadows  of  Calvary 
darkened  His  pathway  as  a  youth,  and  the  Apoc- 
ryphal Books  of  the  New  Testament  show  a  great 
deal  of  the  early  life  of  Christ  not  to  be  found 
in  the  four  Evangelists." 

Long  was  the  period  of  formation  of  the  pres- 
ent New  Testament  books.  It  took  almost  six 
hundred  years  for  the  cullers  of  the  many  books 


370  APPENDIX 

and  writings  concerning  the  life,  teachings,  na- 
ture, and  philosophy  of  Jesus  to  settle  down  on 
what  should  be  considered  the  standard,  or  ca- 
nonical, books  of  the  New  Testament.  The  Rev. 
A.  Plummer,  D.D.,  Master  of  University  Col- 
lege, Durham,  has.  appended  to  the  Bible  the 
result  of  his  learning  on  the  "  Canon  of  The  New 
Testament,"  in  which  he  says,  in  part :  "  The 
early  history  of  the  canon,  both  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment and  the  New  Testament,  is  involved  in  ob- 
scurity. We  know  but  very  little  about  the  way 
in  which  the  books  of  the  New  Testament  were 
gradually  collected  into  one  volume.  .  .  .  St. 
Paul  knows  nothing  of  written  Gospels,  but  ap- 
peals to  tradition.  (I.  Cor.  xv.  3.)  Barnabas 
(A.  D.  70-100)  is  the  first  to  quote  from  the 
Gospels,  with  the  formula,  *  It  is  written.'  Pa- 
pias  (A.  D.  130)  is  the  first  to  speak  of  '  books  ' 
from  which  the  teachings  of  the  Lord  may  be 
known.  In  Justin  Martyr  (140-160)  the 
'  Memoirs  of  the  Apostles '  are  primitive  his- 
torical documents  .  .  .  which  were  read  in 
the  Sunday  services  of  the  church.  .  .  .  Justin 
shows  no  knowledge  of  a  canon  even  of  the  Gos- 
pels." 

The  quotations  which  Justin  made  in  many  in- 
stances differ  from  the  present  Gospels.  About 
this  time  (A.  D.  70-100),  Marcion  formed  a 
canon  consisting  of  the  Gospels  of  St.  Luke, 
which  were  much  abbreviated  from  what  they, 
are  now,  and  ten  epistles  of  Paul. 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  371 

"Near  the  end  to  the  close  of  the  second  cen- 
tury," says  Mr.  Plummer,  "  the  evidence  becomes 
full,  and  the  gradual  formation  of  the  canon  is  a 
process  which  is  approaching  completion."  Dur- 
ing the  first  centuries  of  the  Christian  era,  the 
churches  were  not  all  in  accord  as  to  the  genuine- 
ness of  some  of  the  books  then  used  by  some  and 
rejected  by  others.  "  It  must  be  carefully  noted 
that  they  had  not  quite  the  same  New  Testament 
that  we  have,"  Mr.  Plummer  continues,  "  and 
that  different  parts  of  Christendom  at  that  period 
had  not  quite  the  same  New  Testament  that  other 
parts  had.  Not  only  did  some  churches  accept 
as  authoritative  certain  books  of  our  New  Testa- 
ment which  other  churches  rejected  or  did  not 
know,  although  they  were  afterwards  accepted  by 
all ;  but  some  churches  accepted  a  few  books,  which 
two  hundred  years  later  were  rejected  by  all.  This 
want  of  unanimity  respecting  a  portion  of  the 
books  to  be  admitted  to  the  New  Testament  is  an 
unquestionable  fact  in  the  history  of  primitive 
Christianity,  and  at  first  sight  we  are  inclined 
to  lament  it. 

"  Before  the  close  of  the  sixth  century,  all 
questions  respecting  any  of  the  present  books 
had  ceased  and  doubts  were  not  revived  until  the 
Reformation.  The  books  which  were  for  a  time 
regarded  in  some  parts  of  Christendom  as  inspired, 
and  treated  as  Scripture  by  being  read  in  public 
worship  and  quoted  as  of  authority,  were  prin- 
cipally the  following:   The  Epistle  of  Barnabas, 


372  APPENDIX 

The  Epistle  of  Clement  (with  which  an  ancient 
homily  became  associated  under  the  erroneous 
title  of  the  Second  Epistle  of  Clement),  and  the 
Shepherd  of  Hermas,  with  perhaps  the  Gospel 
according  to  the  Hebrews  and  the  Revelation  of 
Peter." 

Towards  the  end  of  the  fourth  century  (A.  D. 
393),  a  council  was  held  at  Hippo  and  another 
at  Carthage  (A.  D.  397),  which  collected  the 
books  of  the  New  Testament  and  published  a  list 
which  they  deemed  to  be  canonical.  This  hst 
was  in  the  next  century  generally  accepted,  and 
those  books  were  the  same  that  we  have  now. 

THE    NEW   TESTAMENT   CANON 

By  the  canon  of  Scriptures  is  meant  the  books 
of  the  Bible  as  now  accepted.  There  is  the  Old 
Testament  canon  and  the  New  Testament  canon. 
When  the  books  of  the  New  Testament  were 
passed  on  and  rendered  authoritative  among  all 
the  churches  is  a  question  not  fully  settled.  The 
New  Testament  was  a  long  while  in  process  of 
formation,  and  when  we  go  back  into  the  days 
of  early  Christianity  and  acquaint  ourselves  with 
the  perplexities  that  the  promulgators  of  the  new 
religion  had  to  contend  with  as  to  what  should 
be  their  written  guides,  we  stand  appalled  and 
dumfounded. 

We  want  to  think  and  feel  that  our  books  of 
the  New  Testament  are  just  what  they  were 
when  coined  in  the  minds  of  their  authors,  and  that 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  375 

when  we  open  the  New  Testament  we  are  living 
in  the  thoughts  of  the  apostles  and  evangelists 
of  old,  who  had  no  contending  rivalries  in  the 
field  of  sacred  writers ;  but  facts  to  the  contrary 
are  too  stubborn  to  allow  us  the  felicity  of  such 
thoughts  and  we  must  deal  with  cold  truths  as 
we  find  them. 

When  either  of  the  four  Gospels  was  given  to 
the  world,  we  know  not ;  it  is  certain  that  Paul 
knew  nothing  of  such  books  during  his  ministry. 
The  first  intimation  we  have  of  any  kind  of  writ- 
ten documents  or  books  came  from  Barnabas,  who 
was  a  cousin  of  St.  Mark  and  a  co-worker  with 
Paul,  and  who  wrote  some  time  between  the  years 
A.  D.  70  and  100.  He  casually  says,  "  It  is 
written."  What  writing  he  refers  to  we  cannot 
tell.  Papias,  one  of  the  earliest,  if  not  the  very 
earliest,  of  church  writers  (A.  D.  150),  made  use 
of  the  word  "  books."    What  books  we  know  not. 

In  no  case  is  the  title,  "  according  to  Matthew," 
"  Mark,"  "  Luke,"  "  John,"  original.  When  or 
by  whom  the  titles  of  the  four  gospels  were  placed 
at  the  head,  as  names  of  the  respective  books,  we 
do  not  know.  Neither  do  we  know  who  wrote 
either  of  the  Gospels,  yet  the  general  opinion  is 
that  the  names  of  the  authors  are  rightly  placed 
at  the  head  of  the  books.  It  is  quite  evident, 
however,  from  our  sense  of  discrimination  that 
either  Matthew  and  Luke  copied  Mark's  writings, 
or  that  Mark  plagiarized  from  them,  or  that 
the  three  copied  from  some  book  unknown  to  us, 


374.  APPENDIX 

as  they  are  alike  in  too  many  instances  for  all 
of  them  to  be  original. 

Out  of  the  twenty-seven  books  which  form  our 
New  Testament  there  were  twenty  which  were 
generally  accepted  by  all  of  the  churches,  but 
the  remaining  seven  were  held  in  critical  suspense 
for  a  long  time.  The  four  Gospels,  Acts,  the 
thirteen  epistles  of  Paul,  with  I.  John  and  I.  Peter 
were  universally  accepted.  The  epistles  of  Paul 
were  collected  into  one  volume  at  an  early  date, 
and  this  collection  was  commonly  called  "  the 
Apostle  " ;  likewise  the  four  Gospels  were  called 
"  the  Gospel,"  and  with  these  two  collections  the 
Acts,  I.  Peter  and  I.  John  were  soon  associated. 
The  book  of  Hebrews,  James,  II.  Peter,  II.  and 
III.  John,  Jude,  and  Revelations  were  long  held 
in  abeyance  and  doubt.  In  those  centuries  there 
were  many  spurious  gospels,  and  to  cull  the  gen- 
uine from  the  counterfeits  was  a  long  and  tedious 
task. 

The  learned  Dr.  Lardner  is  constrained  to  ad- 
mit that  "  even  as  late  as  the  middle  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  the  canon  of  the  New  Testament 
had  not  been  settled  by  any  authority  that  was 
decisive  and  universally  acknowledged;  but  Chris- 
tian people  were  at  liberty  to  judge  for  themselves 
concerning  the  geniuneness  of  writings  proposed 
to  them  as  apostolical,  and  to  determine  accord- 
ing to  evidence."  Vol.  iii.  pages  54-56;  Tay- 
lor's Diegesis  108. 

Is  Jesus  to  blame  for  the  many  opinions  among 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  375 

theologians  of  all  ages  as  to  what  books  should 
be  taken  as  canonical,  or  which  ones  were  unau- 
thentic? Should  a  disagreement  on  these  points 
disparage  the  true  mission  of  Jesus?  The  facts 
that  Jesus  taught  were  fundamental  factors  of 
life,  for  the  betterment  of  humanity,  and  the 
squabblings  have  always  been  for  loaves  and  fishes 
and  for  personal  ends ;  it  is  no  wonder  the  people 
doubt.  But  yet  the  facts  are  alive,  and  the  smiles 
of  the  Master  are  as  pure  and  inviting  beyond 
and  above  the  clouds  of  doubt  as  they  were  when 
the  young  Galilean  proclaimed  that  the  "Ax 
is  laid  unto  the  root  of  the  trees ;  therefore  every 
tree  that  bringeth  not  forth  good  fruit  is  hewn 
down  and  cast  into  the  fire."  (Matt.  iii.  10.) 
All  of  the  contentions  are  being  eliminated,  the 
absurdities  thrown  off,  and  the  crucial  truth  of 
life  eternal  is  awakening  the  minds  of  the  masses 
with  renewed  love  for  the  one  who  died  that  we 
might  know  the  truth  which  no  power  can  destroy. 
Does  the  sun  shine  any  less  brightly  because  of 
the  Ptolemaic  system  of  the  universe,  and  the 
believers  of  the  writers  of  the  Old  Testament 
that  it  revolved  around  the  earth  instead  of  the 
earth  around  the  sun?  Does  it  impede  the  flow 
of  thought  in  the  brain  because  the  old  prophets 
believed  that  the  heart  was  the  seat  of  thought? 
Did  not  the  blood  circulate  through  the  system 
before  the  discovery  of  Harvey?  Was  not  the 
earth  round  before  Magellan  made  his  great 
voyage?     Will  not  a  rose  smell  just  as  sweet  by 


376  APPENDIX 

"  any  other  name  ?"  Can  a  lie  destroy  a  fact  ? 
Can  envious,  jealous  bigots  kill  the  flow  of  human 
sympathy  and  love  by  dissensions  among  them- 
selves and  their  fabrications  for  selfish  purposes? 
Suppose  there  were  a  thousand  books  instead  of 
one  hundred  and  forty-six  written  about  Jesus, 
would  the  passage  to  the  other  condition  of  life 
be  closed?  Would  his  tears  of  sympathy  for  the 
poor  and  afflicted  bear  no  fruit  of  love,  if  some 
one  does  say  that  life  is  a  failure  and  Jesus  a 
myth?  The  diamond  shows  not  its  full  brilliancy 
until  the  outer  rubbish  is  cleaned  away.  The 
night  of  darkness  cannot  obscure  the  bloom  of 
day,  nor  the  world  of  guilt  escape  the  feast  of 
sorrow. 

Let  us  quit  caviling  about  what  other  people 
have  done,  taught,  or  believed,  and  improve  the 
present  hour,  live  for  the  betterment  of  ourselves 
and  the  race,  wrong  no  man,  cultivate  the  princi- 
ples of  friendship,  soothe  the  heart  of  sorrow,  re- 
lieve distress,  and  welcome  the  future  with  clean 
hands. 

WAS  IT  MATTHEW  OR  LEVI? 

Our  reverence  for  sacred  authority  can  only 
be  canonized  into  the  heart  with  a  fixedness  that 
lives  with  us  and  becomes  a  part  of  our  lives, — 
when  we  say  to  intelligent  investigation,  "  stop 
before   you    commence  to    doubt." 

Was  it  Matthew  or  was  it  Levi  that  Jesus 
called  from  the  receipt  of  custom?     We  are  told 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  377 

in  Matthew :  "  And  as  Jesus  passed  from  thence, 
he  saw  a  man  named  Matthew  sitting  at  the 
receipt  of  custom ;  and  he  saith  unto  him,  Follow 
me;  and  he  rose  up  and  followed  him."  (Matt, 
ix.  9.)  Mark  says  it  was  Levi,  in  these  words: 
*•  And  as  he  passed  by,  he  saw  Levi  the  son  of 
Alphaeus  sitting  at  the  receipt  of  custom,  and  he 
said  unto  him.  Follow  me ;  and  he  rose  up  and  fol- 
lowed him."     (Mark  ii.  14.) 

Luke  uses  this  language:  "And  after  these 
things  he  went  forth,  and  saw  a  publican  named 
Levi  sitting  at  the  receipt  of  custom ;  and  he  said 
unto  him,  Follow  me;  and  he  left  all,  rose  up, 
and  followed  him."  (Luke  v.  27.)  On  which 
occasion  Levi  made  a  great  feast  and  invited  many 
guests ;  among  them  were  Pharisees,  apostles,  and 
Jesus. 

Do  those  discriminations  disparage  the  estima- 
tion we  should  have  of  the  Master?  No ;  but  it 
does  lessen  our  esteem  for  the  sacredness  of  the 
books  as  being  the  product  of  inspiration. 

THE  BOOK  OF  MATTHEW 

The  first  three  books  of  the  Gospels  are  called 
synoptic,  because  they  are  considered  a  kind  of 
compendium  of  the  books  that  preceded  them. 
The  heading  of  the  book  of  Matthew  shows  that 
the  man  did  not  write  the  book  that  is  headed 
by  his  name.  The  title  is,  "  The  Gospel  Accord- 
ing to  Saint  Matthew" ;  that  is,  the  gospel  as  it 
was'  probably   learned   from   the    preaching    of 


378  APPENDIX 

Matthew.  Had  it  been  written  by  Matthew  the 
language  would  have  been  different.  If  we  con- 
cede that  Matthew  wrote  that  Gospel  the  proper 
analysis  of  the  language  would  be,  the  "gospel 
according  to  Matthew  written  by  Matthew," 
which  would  seem  a  little  awkward,  at  least. 

But  that  makes  no  difference;  the  book  is  here 
for  what  it  is  worth,  that  is,  we  must  value  it 
for  what  it  contains  and  profit  by  all  that  is 
good  therein.  If  there  is  anything  in  it  we  do  not 
understand,  or  cannot  explain,  let  it  go,  as  we  do 
other  things  we  cannot  subscribe  to,  and  profit 
by  the  sunshine  of  truth  that  sparkles  all  through 
its  pages. 

The  book  of  Matthew  was  written  for  the 
instruction  and  guidance  of  the  Christian  Jews, 
as  is  affirmed  by  Irenaeus,  who  wrote  A.  D.  180. 
His  opinion  is  abundantly  confirmed  by  the  in- 
ternal evidence  of  the  Gospel  itself.  The  Jews 
were  sticklers  for  tradition,  the  Mosaic  law,  the 
prophets,  and  ancient  beliefs.  They  looked  for  a 
Messiah,  in  the  line  of  David,  to  come  to  their 
delivery.  So  Matthew  starts  out  with  a  genealogy 
of  Jesus,  given  in  evidence  that  Jesus  was  the 
promised  Messiah,  and  brings  other  evidence  to 
show  that  Jesus  was  the  fulfillment  of  the  many 
prophesies    of   the    Old    Testament. 

To  fasten  the  point  in  their  minds  that  Jesus 
was  the  promised  Messiah,  and  that  the  Jews  were 
his  particular  and  chosen  people,  he  makes  Jesus 
say  in  his  instructions  to  his  disciples  that  they 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  379 

*'  go  not  in  the  way  of  the  Gentiles  and  into  the 
city  of  the  Samaritans  enter  ye  not ;  but  go  rather 
to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel."  (Matt. 
X.  5,  6.)  The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  abounds  jn 
references  to  the  Mosaic  law.  In  short,  the  whole 
of  the  Gospel  is  Hebraic,  the  intention  of  which 
was  to  gently  lead  the  Jews  out  of  the  old  and 
into  the  new.  Matthew  was  written  for  a  special 
purpose,  but  the  Jews  were  too  much  wedded 
to  their  gods  to  espouse  a  new  philosophy  or 
embrace  a  new  religion. 

THE  BOOK  OF  MARK 

The  book  of  Mark  comes  to  us  better  identified 
as  to  authorship  than  does  that  of  Matthew. 
The  evangelist's  full  name  was  John  Mark.  His 
conversion  to  Christianity  was  procured,  prob- 
ably, through  Peter,  who  was  a  great  friend  of 
IMark's  mother,  Mary,  at  whose  house  the  apostles 
often  gathered  for  consultation  and  sometimes 
to  avoid  capture  by  their  enemies.  When  Mark 
started  out  in  the  service  of  the  Master  he  became 
acquainted  with  Paul,  and  they  worked  together 
for  awhile ;  but  when  the  plan  was  laid  for  Paul 
and  Barnabas  to  go  into  the  cities  they  had 
visited  before,  Barnabas  wanted  Mark  to  accom- 
pany them,  to  which  Paul  objected.  This  cre- 
ated an  estrangement  between  them,  and  the  result 
was  that  Paul  and  Silas  went  through  Syria  and 
Cilicia  while  Barnabas  and  IMark  went  to  Cyprus. 
But  after  the  lapse  of  eight  or  nine  years  they 


380  APPENDIX 

were  found  again  in  harmony  and  working  to- 
gether. 

The  Gospel  according  to  Saint  Mark  was  ob- 
tained, doubtless,  from  Peter.  Peter  was  a  favor- 
ite apostle  of  the  Master,  although  he  denied  him 
when  the  extreme  moment  came ;  yet  he  sat  afar 
off  and  witnessed  his  crucifixion  and  afterwards 
preached  his  Gospel,  for  which  he,  too,  suffered 
death.  Mark  was  a  learned  man,  while  Peter 
was  uneducated  and  therefore  needed  an  amanu- 
ensis ;  and  it  is  a  favorite  opinion  among  scholars 
that  Mark  obtained  his  information  principally 
from  Peter  for  his  book,  which  was,  no  doubt, 
the  first  of  the  four  Gospels  written. 

One  remarkable  feature  about  the  book  of 
INIark  is  that  there  are  only  about  twenty-four 
verses  in  his  whole  Gospel  that  are  not  contained 
in  INIatthew,  or  in  Luke,  or  in  both.  In  the  nar- 
ration of  the  passion  it  is  certain  that  either 
Matthew  copied  from  Mark,  or  Mark  from  Mat- 
thew. Passing  that  by,  we  do  know,  from  our 
sense  of  discrimination,  that  either  INIatthew  and 
Luke  copied  from  Mark,  or  that  Mark  plagiarized 
from  them,  or  that  the  three  copied  from  some 
other  book  now  unknown  to  us.  While  some  of 
the  early  fathers  of  the  church  were  of  the  opinion 
that  Mark  wrote  his  gospel  at  Alexandria,  the 
riper  opinion  is  that  it  was  written  at  Rome.  It 
is  regrettable  that  so  much  of  the  New  Testament 
is  shrouded  in  mystery,  considering  the  importance 
of  the  subject  involved. 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  381 

The  book  of  Mark  was  written  to  reconcile 
the  Romans  and  Gentiles  to  the  new  faith.  So 
cautious  was  Mark  on  this  point,  and  so  de- 
sirous was  he  not  to  arouse  the  prejudices  of 
the  Romans  anew  against  the  religion  of  the 
Jews,  for  fear  of  the  effects  on  the  philosophy 
he  was  trying  to  establish,  that  he  quotes  only 
two  passages  from  the  Old  Testament  (Mark 
i.  2,  3).  He  makes  no  reference  to  the  Mosaic 
law,  gives  no  genealogy  of  Jesus,  and  simply 
presents  him  as  a  spiritual  conqueror,  doing  won- 
ders in  physical  manifestations,  showing  spirit 
powers  and  spirit  return,  demonstrating  the  fu- 
tility of  old  dogmas  by  subjecting  his  own  life 
to  immolation  on  the  cross  for  others. 

The  vividness  of  the  pictures  drawn  by  Mark 
of  the  new  dispensation  indicates  most  strongly 
that  he  drew  his  information  of  the  works  of  the 
Master  from  an  eyewitness,  and  so  adroitly 
does  he  present  them  to  the  world  that  it  must 
be  conceded  that  he  was  a  devout  believer  him- 
self, and  in  presenting  the  facts  contained  in  his 
book,  he  desired  to  retain  the  good  opinion  of 
those  he  wished  to  reach.  While  the  manner  of 
presentation  in  many  instances  is  almost  crude, 
yet  there  is  a  strength  of  expression  that  carries 
conviction.  That  strength  of  presentation  shows 
him  to  have  been  an  original  thinker  of  great 
ability. 

Biblical  scholars  who  have  made  a  study  of 
the  Gospels  for  the  sole  purpose  of  ascertaining 


382  APPENDIX 

all  facts  surrounding  them,  tell  us  that  the  last 
twelve  verses  of  the  Gospel  of  Mark  were  not 
written  by  him,  that  he  left  his  Gospel  incomplete, 
and  some  unknown  person  added  those  twelve  last 
verses  to  the  last  chapter.  Those  twelve  verses 
have  been  the  source  of  much  criticism,  and  have 
given  rise  to  regrets  that  they  had  ever  been 
attached  as  the  concluding  paragraphs  to  his 
Gospel.  But  few  have  ever  attested  their  belief 
in  Mark  by  drinking  "  a  deadly  thing,"  lest  it 
might  harm  them,  notwithstanding  Mark  is  made 
to  say,  "it  shall  not  hurt  them." 

THE   GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  LUKE 

Saint  Luke  is  accredited  with  the  authorship 
of  the  third  Gospel  and  also  of  The  Acts  of  The 
Apostles.  He  was  a  Jew,  born  at  Antioch,  the 
metropolis  of  Syria.  That  city  was  celebrated 
for  its  schools  and  facilities  for  education.  It 
was  the  opinion  of  some  of  the  ancient  fathers 
of  the  church  that  he  was  a  manumitted  slave, 
a  position  that  would  seem  antagonistic  to  a  high 
state  of  learning;  but  that  kind  of  slavery  was 
not  like  our  African  slavery,  where  education  was 
prohibited  as  a  dangerous  thing  to  the  best  inter- 
ests of  ownership  in  chattel  property. 

Luke  was  a  physician  by  profession,  and  it  is 
thought  that  he  was  converted  to  Christianity  by 
the  preaching  of  Paul,  from  which  preaching  he 
obtained  much  of  the  material  for  his  Gospel 
and  the  Acts ;  and  by  his  association  with  Paul 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  383 

he  became  familiar  with  the  leading  characters  of 
the  apostles   and  early   proselytes   and  believers. 

He  was  an  honest  expounder  of  the  principles 
of  the  new  religion,  and  in  his  writings  he  gave 
his  best  opinions  and  obtained  facts  concern- 
ing the  things  of  which  he  wrote.  While  we 
are  led  to  think,  from  the  consensus  of  critics, 
that  the  three  Synoptic  Gospels  were  written 
by  different  persons,  at  different  times  and  places, 
without  any  concurrence  of  design,  yet  there  are 
internal  evidences  that  each  part,  or  book,  was 
made  to  serve  and  complete  a  system  for  general 
use. 

The  book  of  Matthew  was  written  to  fit  the 
Jewish  idea  of  the  promised  Messiah,  and  to 
mellow  the  old  Mosaic  conception  into  a  sweeter 
Gospel  of  peace  and  love.  Mark  wrote  for  the 
Romans  and  to  soothe  their  asperities  against 
the  presentation  of  religious  thought  different 
from  their  own,  when  they  saw  all  that  was  neces- 
sary in  the  Stoic  philosophy.  Luke  addressed 
his  Gospel  to  the  consideration  of  the  Gentiles 
generally. 

Thus  by  the  three  all  the  prejudices  and  reason- 
able objections  of  the  various  classes  with  dif- 
ferent views  on  religion  might  be  met.  The  plan 
of  salvation,  as  laid  down  in  the  Gospels,  indicates 
a  system  of  thought  and  concurrence  of  design 
that  seem  more  than  mere  coincidence.  Let  us 
keep  in  mind  that  that  system  of  philosophy  which 
is  called  religion  was  not  founded  altogether  for 


384  APPENDIX 

the  glory  of  God  and  the  souls  of  men,  but  was 
originally  a  great  political  and  business  organiza- 
tion as  well.  It  is  not  so  much  a  political  factor 
now  as  formerly,  yet  it  is  a  mammoth  business 
concern,  the  corner-stone  of  which  is  cemented 
in  the  credulity  of  the  masses. 

The  leading  principles  of  the  three  Synoptic 
Gospels  were  the  concentration  of  power  in  the 
hands  of  the  few,  the  head  of  whom  was  the 
pope  of  Rome.  For  seventeen  hundred  years 
European  crowned  heads  depended  upon  the  will 
of  the  pope  for  the  security  of  their  positions, 
and  it  would  be  so  now  were  not  his  powers 
weakened  by  divisions  in  religious  sentiment. 
Our  Catholic  friends  place  great  stress  on  that 
passage  in  which  Jesus  said  to  Peter,  "And  I 
say  also  unto  thee  that  thou  art  Peter,  and  upon 
this  rock  I  will  build  my  church ;  and  the  gates 
of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it."  (Matt. 
xvi.  18.)  To  build  that  church  were  the  three 
Synoptic  Gospels  written. 

Matthew  tickled  the  vanity  of  the  Jews  by  pre- 
tending to  them  that  they  were  God's  chosen 
people,  and  that  Jesus  regarded  them  as  his 
especial  favorites.  Luke  addressed  himself  more 
to  the  practical  understanding  of  the  Gentiles, 
to  whom  he  went  with  his  especial  gospel.  He 
did  not  claim  an  estrangement  from  the  general 
philosophies  of  the  day,  but  a  kind  of  better 
graft  on  the  stem  of  the  old  stock  of  religion, 
from  which  Jesus  was  presented  as  a  descendant 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  385 

direct  from  God  through  the  channel  of  Adam. 
He  did  not  claim  to  the  Gentiles  that  he  obtained 
the  material  out  of  which  he  wrote  his  Gospel 
from  any  source  other  than  from  hearsay  and 
rumor.  On  this  subject  he  sa3^s,  "  For  as  much 
as  many  have  taken  it  in  hand  to  set  forth  in 
order  a  declaration  of  those  things  which  are 
most  surely  believed  among  us,  even  as  they  deliv- 
ered them  unto  us,  which  from  the  beginning 
were  eyewitnesses  and  ministers  of  the  word,  it 
seems  good  to  me  also,  having  had  perfect  under- 
standing of  all  things  from  the  very  first,  to 
write  to  thee  in  order,  most  excellent  Theophilus, 
that  thou  mightest  know  the  certainty  of  these 
things  wherein  thou  hast  been  instructed."  (Luke 
i.  1.) 

THE  GOSPEL  ACCORDING  TO  SAINT  JOHN 

Let  us  be  candid  and  freely  admit  that  we 
neither  know  when,  nor  by  whom,  the  fourth 
Gospel  was  written.  The  generally  accepted 
opinion  is  that  it  was  written  some  time  between 
the  years  A.  D.  80  and  95 ;  but  that  is  mere  con- 
jecture. If  it  was  as  late  as  A.  D.  95,  John 
must  have  been  nearly  one  hundred  years  old  when 
he  wrote  it.  The  weight  of  authority  is  that 
John  was  as  old  as,  if  not  older  than,  Jesus, 
and  Jesus  was  four  years  older  than  the  accepted 
era  makes  him.  We  infer  that  John  was  as 
old  as,  if  not  older  than,  Jesus  from  the  fact  that 
he  must  have  been  a  man  and  acquired  a  home  be- 


386  APPENDIX 

fore  he  was  called  as  a  disciple.     After  he  became 
a  disciple  he  had  no  time  to  accumulate  property. 

When  Jesus  was  on  the  cross,  he  consigned 
the  keeping  of  his  mother  to  John,  and  she  lived 
with  him  at  Jerusalem  during  the  remainder  of 
her  life.  If  John  was  of  the  same  age  as  Jesus, 
or  older,  he  was  ninet3^-nine  years  old  at  the  time 
the  fourth  Gospel  was  written,  if  it  was  written 
in  the  year  95.  The  weight  of  evidence  is,  how- 
ever, that  the  Gospel  according  to  John  was  not 
known  at  the  time  Justin  ^lartyr  wrote  his  Apol- 
og}'^,  in  A.  D.  140 ;  it  was  first  alluded  to  by 
Theophilus  and  Irenaeus  not  earlier  than  A.  D. 
180.  It  was  an  anonymous  book;  at  least  so 
secretly  was  the  authorship  kept  that  none  of  the 
early  fathers  knew  its  name,  and  it  was  along 
in  the  centuries  of  the  Christian  era  before  it  was 
named,  and  then  the  name  was  placed  at  the  head 
of  the  book  without  certain  proof  as  to  the 
authorship  and  by  men  whose  names  were  kept 
from  the  public,  as  well  as  the  time  of  the  trans- 
action. 

This  great  secrecy  might  lead  a  skeptical  mind 
to  infer  that  the  whole  thing  was  gotten  up  by 
wily  monks  to  conserve  their  own  interests  at  a 
time  when  It  was  safer  to  conceal  the  name  of  the 
true  author  than  to  give  it  publicity ;  there  was 
no  genuine  reason  for  John,  if  he  was  the  author, 
to  keep  his  name  in  the  dark,  for  the  book  itself 
is  certainly  a  literary  production  that  anyone 
might  well  be  proud  of. 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  387 

During  the  first  and  second  centuries  after 
Jesus,  the  Christian  countries  where  the  religion 
of  Christ  was  being  planted  were  flooded  with 
gospels,  books,  epistles,  and  writings  concerning 
the  life,  mission,  and  religion  of  Jesus,  all  of 
which  claimed  to  be  genuine,  and  of  the  many 
translations  none,  not  even  those  we  have,  are 
what  they  were  when  first  presented  to  the  world. 
There  have  been  so  many  translations,  so  many 
versions,  and  so  many  changes,  that  no  one  can 
tell  what  the  originals  were. 

We  have  no  right,  under  the  laws  of  God  or 
man,  to  stultify  ourselves,  or  hold  up  a  theory 
or  dogma  that  our  senses  revolt  at.  One  of  the 
revolting  features  is  the  assertion  that  the  whole 
of  the  Scripture  canon  comes  to  us  through  the 
inspiration  of  God.  The  Scriptures  do  not  claim 
any  such  thing,  and  why  should  we,  in  the  face 
of  some  of  their  extravagance,  attempt  to  do 
so.''  Here  is  an  example  from  John.  In  speak- 
ing of  that  wonderful  draught  of  fishes  and  the 
final  ascension  of  Jesus,  the  writer  of  the  Gospel 
says :  "  This  is  the  disciple  which  testified  of  these 
things,  and  wrote  these  things ;  and  we  know 
that  his  testimony  is  true,  and  there  are  also  many 
other  things  which  Jesus  did,  the  which,  if  they 
should  be  written,  every  one,  I  suppose  that  even 
the  world  itself  could  not  contain  the  books  that 
should  be  written."  John  xxi.  24,  25.  Adam 
Clark,  in  his  commentaries  on  the  Bible,  says,  "  It 
is,  I  think,  very  likely  that  these  two  verses  were 


388  APPENDIX 

added  by  some  of  the  believers,  at  the  time,  as  tes- 
timony to  the  truth  of  the  preceding  naiTation." 

The  ministry  of  Jesus,  according  to  the 
Synoptic  Gospels,  extended  but  a  little  over  one 
year  and  was  confined  generally  to  Galilee ;  John 
makes  it  almost  three  years,  reckoning  according 
to  the  Jewish  Passover.  See  John  ii.  13;  vi.  4; 
xiii.  1. 

There  are  learned  critics  who  claim  that  "  John, 
the  beloved  apostle  of  Jesus,"  was  the  author  of 
not  only  the  gospel  of  John,  but  the  three  epistles, 
John  I.,  II.,  Ill,,  and  also  the  book  of  Revela- 
tions. If  that  be  true,  then  John  was  a  wonderful 
mental  magician,  for  the  style  of  the  books,  ex- 
cept, perhaps,  the  first  epistle  of  John  and  his 
Gospel  are  entirely  different.  A  person  may 
change  his  religion,  politics,  and  mode  of  living, 
but  his  mannerisms  in  writing  are  discernible  all 
through  his  life,  if  he  is  an  author,  even  though 
he  may  wish  to  counterfeit  his  style. 

The  principal  purpose  of  the  writer  of  the 
book  of  the  Gospel  of  John  was  doctrinal.  It  was 
from  John  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Godhead  was 
introduced  into  the  Christian  religion.  It  was 
on  this  book  that  the  Bishop  of  Alexandria  and 
Bishop  Arias  became  divided.  The  interpreta- 
tion thereof  caused  the  rise  of  the  Arian  sect  of 
Christians,  which  resulted  in  the  death  of  Arias. 

The  Alexandrian  branch  of  the  church  believed 
that  Jesus  was  coeternal  with  God  and  assisted 
in  the  creation  of  the  world  and  all  things  con- 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  389 

tained  in  it.  Arias  taught  that  the  being  of 
Jesus  commenced  with  his  physical  birth  into  the 
world.  The  Alexandrian  doctrine  sought  to  tor- 
ture the  being  of  Jesus  into  a  God,  equal  in  all 
things  with  the  Creator  of  the  universe.  The 
difference  of  opinion  grew  out  of  the  first  five 
verses  of  the  first  chapter  of  John,  which  begins : 
"  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word 
was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God.  The 
same  was  in  the  beginning  with  God.  All  things 
were  made  by  him,  and  without  him  was  nothing 
made  that  hath  been  made.  In  him  was  life,  and 
the  life  was  the  light  of  men.  And  the  light 
shineth  In  the  darkness,  and  the  darkness  appre- 
hended  it  not." 

The  book  of  John  is  simply  a  poem,  with  very 
obscure  meanings  in  many  instances.  If  there  is 
any  meaning  at  all  to  be  attached  to  the  opening 
of  the  Gospel  of  John,  we  must  gather  that 
meaning  by  the  ordinary  way  of  construing 
obscure  passages.  In  all  writings  we  get  at  the 
meaning  of  the  author  from  the  light  of  the 
subject  he  is  writing  about.  John  wove  his  best 
thoughts  into  prose  poetry.  He  starts  out  with 
four  principal  divisions  of  his  subject.  He  wrote 
from  inspiration,  as  all  poets  do.  His  inspired 
meaning,  no  doubt,  is,  if  possible,  both  scientific 
and  sensible,  but  clothed  in  the  drapery  of  the 
imagination. 

Let  us  analyze  that  sentence  according  to  Bib- 
lical doctrines.     The  Bible  says,  God  created  all 


390  APPENDIX 

things.  Now  how  did  that  creation  come  about? 
By  His  command.  God  did  not  make  things 
as  a  carpenter  makes  a  house,  or  a  potter  his  ves- 
sel of  clay,  but  he  did  it  by  the  fiat  of  infinite 
intelligence.  He  said,  "  Let  there  be  light ;  and 
there  was  light."  That  was  the  word  of  God,  and 
that  word  was  a  principle  of  a  force  in  nature 
expressed  by  the  word,  "  Let  there  be  light,"  and 
that  principle  of  divine  force  was  as  eternal  as 
God,  because  it  is  a  part  of  God. 

"  In  Him.  was  life."  Of  course  that  is  a 
self-evident  proposition.  All  life  is  a  factor  of 
nature  and  consequently  a  part  of  God.  "And 
the  life  was  the  light  of  men."  What  is  the 
life  of  men?  It  is  the  spirit  that  lives  in  the 
physical  house  called  the  body.  When  that  spirit 
takes  its  flight,  the  body  is  lifeless.  The  spirit 
is  a  principle  of  nature  and  is  a  part  of  God  and 
of  course  eternal  with  him.  "And  the  light 
shineth  in  the  darkness  and  the  darkness  appre- 
hended it  not."  There  are  many  people  who  do 
not  apprehend  the  spirit  of  light  now,  because 
they  are  in  darkness, —  the  darkness  of  spiritual 
ignorance  which  leads  into  sin,  sin  into  crime, 
and  crime  into  utter  darkness, —  the  darkness  of 
the  soul.  Jesus  taught  the  way  of  life  and  light, 
that  "  light  that  shineth  in  darkness,  and  the 
darkness  comprehended  it  not."  The  light  of 
Jesus  illumes  the  tomb  and  reveals  the  Flowers  of 
Beauty  on  the  Shores  of  Eternity. 

We  are  taught  to   investigate  aU  things  and 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  391 

hold  fast  to  that  which  is  good.  This  does  not 
mean  that  we  must  be  ruled  by  our  emotions,  but 
by  our  reason.  Error  never  ripens  into  truth 
by  age,  and  because  interested  men  made  a  mis- 
take two  thousand  years  ago  is  no  reason  why  we 
should  venerate  their  blunders  today.  It  is  not 
irreverent  for  us  to  question  things  that  other 
people  tell  us,  though  the  fountain  source  is  aged 
and  comes  from  what  men  call  sacred  sources. 
There  is  but  one  thing  sacred  in  earth  or  heaven, 
and  that  is  Truth ;  and  we  have  the  right  to  sus- 
pect every  thing  that  comes  to  us  through  the 
instrumentality  of  a  hidden  hand  or  covered  by 
the  veil  of  darkness. 

If  the  New  Testament  is  what  it  purports  to  be, 
there  could  be  no  cause  for  hiding  its  authorship, 
the  date  of  its  production,  the  language  in  which 
it  was  written,  or  the  meaning  of  its  terms ;  and 
while  it  is  so  shrouded  in  mystery  we  must  be 
allowed  to  take  it  for  what  it  is  worth,  as  we  do 
other  mental  and  spiritual  productions,  and  for 
nothing  more.  If  that  be  sin,  then  condemn  the 
Bible.  "  Come  now,  and  let  us  reason  together, 
saith  the  Lord."  Isa.  i.  18.  "  As  Paul  reasoned 
of  righteousness,  temperance,  and  judgment  to 
come,  Felix  trembled."  Acts  xxiv.  25.  "  But 
sanctify  the  Lord  God  in  your  hearts  and  be  ready 
always  to  give  an  answer  to  every  man  that  asketh 
a  reason  for  the  hope  that  is  in  you,  with  meek- 
ness and  fear."  1.  Pet.  iii.  15.  "  The  sluggard 
is  wiser  in  his  own  conceit  than  seven  men  that 
can  render  a  reason."     Prov.  xxvi.  16. 


392  APPENDIX 

THE    NEW    TESTAMENT    LANGUAGE 

Adam  Clark  says  that  whether  the  Gospel  of 
Matthew  "  was  written  originally  in  Hebrew  or 
Greek  is  a  question  by  which  the  most  eminent 
critics   have   been   greatly  puzzled  and   divided." 

The  Book  of  Mark.  The  early  fathers  were  of 
the  opinion  that  the  book  of  Mark  was  written 
in  Latin,  but  the  later  opinion  is  it  was  written  in 
Greek.  Adam  Clark,  in  his  Commentaries  on  the 
Bible,  says :  "  Critics  are  also  divided  concern- 
ing the  language  in  which  it  (the  book  of  Mark) 
was  written  and  the  people  to  whom  it  was  writ- 
ten. Some  have  contended  for  a  Latin  original." 
That  it  was  originally  written  in  Greek  is  a  point 
now  acknowledged  by  almost  all  learned  men. 

The  Gospel  of  Luke.  The  prevalent  opinion 
is  that  the  Gospel  of  Luke  was  written  in  Greek, 
for  his  efforts  were  to  convert  the  Gentiles  to  the 
Christian  faith.  Opinions  differ  as  to  the  place 
of  writing ;  some  think  it  was  written  at  Alexan- 
dria, Eg3'pt,  but  the  most  general  opinion  is  that 
it  was  pubUshed  at  Achaia,  Greece. 

There  seems  to  be  an  effort  all  through  the 
course  of  the  Gospels  to  conceal  the  "  hand  that 
made  the  feast,"  rather  than  to  give  those  things 
that  people  generally  look  for  that  open  publicity 
that  satisfies. 

The  Gospel  of  John.  The  language  in  which 
the  fourth  Gospel  Avas  written  is  a  matter  of  con- 
jecture  also.     The    opinion    prevails   that   John 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  395 

was  bom  at  Bethsaida  and  was  consequently  a 
Galilean.  As  he  was  the  son  of  a  fisherman,  a  class 
among  whom  education  was  not  generally  dif- 
fused, we  may  well  presume  that  he  wrote  in  his 
mother  tongue,  the  Hebrew  or  the  Aramaic.  The 
first  mention  of  John  that  we  have  any  record  of 
was  by  Theophilus  in  the  latter  part  of  the  second 
century.  But  those  early  days  of  uncertainty 
leave  us  in  doubt  as  to  the  language  of  the  orig- 
inal Gospel. 

The  language  of  Jesus.  This  is  as  much  a 
matter  of  conjecture  as  the  language  of  the 
writers  of  the  Gospels.  It  is  not  known  whether 
the  Master  in  his  teachings  spoke  Greek  or  Ara- 
maic. It  is  presumed,  however,  that  he  spoke 
his  mother  tongue,  as  most  of  his  disciples  were 
Galileans. 

The  Epistles  of  Paul.  Paul  was  an  educated 
Jew  and  could  write  in  either  the  Greek  or  the 
Hebrew  language;  but  as  his  letters  were  directed 
to  different  individuals  and  churches,  it  is  pre- 
sumed that  he  wrote  in  that  language  which  they 
could  respectively  understand.  His  four  great 
Epistles,  the  Corinthians,  Galatians,  and  the  Ro- 
mans, were  written  in  Greek ;  the  other  of  his 
Epistles  were  probably  written  in  Hebrew. 

THE  GENERAL  EPISTLE  OF  JAMES 

In  reading  the  history  of  this  epistle,  if  such  a 
thing  be  possible,  through  the  mists  thrown 
around  it,  we  are  struck  with  the  apparent  du- 


S94.  APPENDIX 

plicity  of  the  authors  of  the  New  Testament. 
There  is  no  other  personage,  real  or  fictitious,  that 
the  wildest  dreams  might  invent,  that  could  safely 
can-y  the  load  that  Jesus  has  borne  for  the  last 
two  thousand  years.  Any  other  character  than 
that  of  our  Master  would  long  since  have  been 
buried  from  the  minds  of  the  masses.  But  the 
virtues  and  the  mission  of  Jesus  can  never  die ;  they 
are  ingrained  in  the  nature  of  men;  they  adjust 
the  philosophy  of  duty  with  the  glow  of  love ;  the 
realities  of  this  life  to  the  onward  reach  of  the 
next.  It  is  the  helping  hand  of  Jesus  that  raises 
the  fallen,  supports  the  tottering,  guides  the  er- 
ring. The  people  want  Him,  the  people  love  Him, 
and  will  rally  to  his  standard,  let  whatever  wind 
that  wist  to  blow,  whatever  storm  to  howl,  and 
dark  Adversity  impend  his  frowns :  Jesus  is  both 
the  anchor  that  holds  the  ship  and  the  pilot  that 
guides  it  to  the  haven  of  safety. 

The  epistle  of  James,  in  my  estimation,  is  the 
most  important  production  of  the  New  Testament. 
It  is  in  every  way  practical  as  applied  to  human 
life,  religion,  and  man's  duty  to  man ;  and  yet  it 
was  considered  spurious  for  a  long  time,  and  only 
admitted  in  the  canon  of  the  New  Testament 
after  many  objections  and  trials. 

No  one  knows  the  date  of  the  letter,  or  who 
wrote  it,  or  the  language  in  which  it  was  written. 
James,  the  brother  of  Jesus,  is  supposed  by  some 
to  be  the  author,  and  I  am  inclined  to  think  he 
was  from  the  fact  that  the  epistle  accords  with 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  395 

the  known  life  and  teaching  of  the  Master.  It  is 
commonplace,  easily  understood,  and  reaches  to 
the  very  bottom  of  good  sense.  The  author  de- 
fines religion,  and  is  the  only  one  in  the  New 
Testament  who  does.  His  definition  is  in  full 
accord  with  the  practical  religion  that  Jesus 
taught  by  example.  "  If  any  man  among  you 
seem  to  be  religious,  and  bridleth  not  his  tongue, 
but  deceiveth  his  own  heart,  this  man's  religion 
is  vain.  Pure  religion  and  undefiled  before  God 
and  the  Father  is  this :  To  visit  the  fatherless 
and  widows  in  their  affliction,  and  to  keep  himself 
unspotted  from  the  world,"     James  i.  26,  27. 

The  author  of  "  Notes  on  Saint  James  "  says : 
"  There  is  scarcely  doubt  that  the  writer  was 
James,  the  brother  of  the  Lord.  As  the  brother 
of  the  Lord  he  had  been  much  in  the  society  of 
Christ  before  he  learned  to  believe  on  him,  and 
this  accounts  for  the  numerous  reminiscences  of 
Christ's  words  which  we  find  in  his  epistle,  and 
seem  to  be  independent  of  the  reports  of  his  words 
contained  in  the  Gospels." 

Here  come  more  perplexities,  "  There  were 
two  disciples  of  our  Lord  who  bore  the  name  of 
James.  One  was  the  son  of  Zebedec,  who  was  put 
to  death  by  Herod  Agrippa  A.  D.  44.  The 
author  of  this  epistle  was  James  the  Less,  son  of 
Alpheus."  From  "  Note  on  Book  of  James." 
Adam  Clark,  in  his  commentaries  on  the  Bible, 
says  in  his  notes  on  James :  "  James,  the  son  of 
Zebedee,  called  also  James  the  elder,  and  James 


396  APPENDIX 

the  less,  or  little  one,  called  the  son  of  Alpheus, 
and  brother  of  our  Lord, —  whether  one  of  these, 
or  if  one  of  them,  which,  or  whether  one  by  the 
same  name  different  from  both,  are  points  that 
cannot  be  satisfactorily  determined.  Michaelis, 
who  has  examined  the  subject  with  his  usual  abil- 
ity, leaves  the  matter  in  doubt,  but  leans  to  the 
opinion  that  James,  the  son  of  Zebedee,  was  the 
author  and  that  the  epistle  was  written  before 
any  of  those  in  the  New  Testament.  Other  great 
authorities  ascribe  it  to  James,  called  the  brother 
of  our  Lord,  who  was  president  or  bishop  of  the 
church  in  Jerusalem." 

There  are  many  other  great  men  who  have  risen 
to  explain,  but  their  explanations  seem  lost  in 
their  explications. 

THE  EPISTLES  OF  PETER 

That  Peter  was  a  fisherman  is  conceded ;  that  he 
was  unlearned  is  also  the  prevailing  opinion.  It 
is  the  general  opinion,  also,  that  Mark  was  Peter's 
clerk  and  from  Peter  obtained  the  material  for 
the  Gospel  of  Mark,  that  Peter  was  the  true 
author  of  the  book  of  Mark,  but  from  modesty 
did  not"  allow  his  name  to-  appear  as  author. 
INIight  not  Mark  have  written  the  epistles  of  Peter 
also.?  The  mechanical  act  of  writing  the  epistles 
has  nothing  to  do  with  their  authorship.  The 
first  epistle  of  Peter  was  admitted  early  as  canoni- 
cal; the  second  epistle  was  controverted.  Euse- 
bius  says,  "  Of  the  controverted  books  of  the  New 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  39*7 

Testament,  yet  well  known  and  approved  by 
many,  are  that  called  the  epistle  of  James,  and 
that  of  Jude,  and  the  second  and  third  of  John. 
And  in  another  place,  one  epistle  of  Peter,  the 
first,  is  universally  received." 

Peter  was  a  Galilean  and  perhaps  wrote  his 
epistle  in  the  Aramaic  language.  He  was  con- 
sidered chief  of  the  apostles,  and  a  man  of  great 
power  of  thought  and  purpose,  and  firm  in  his 
convictions.  He  is  the  rock  on  which  the  Cath- 
olic church  is  founded.  "  And  I  say  also  unto 
thee,  that  thou  art  Peter;  and  upon  this  rock  I 
will  build  my  church,  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall 
not  prevail  against  it."     Matt.  xvi.  18. 

THE  GENERAL  EPISTLE  OF  JUDE 

It  is  presumed  that  the  epistle  of  Jude  was  writ- 
ten by  one  of  the  brothers  of  Jesus,  called  Judas. 
This  epistle  was  not  recognized  as  proper  to  be 
placed  among  the  canonical  writings  of  the  New 
Testament, —  not  because  of  a  question  of  its 
genuineness  but  of  its  weight,  and  in  that  opin- 
ion I  most  heartily  concur.  Were  it  not  classed 
among  the  sacred  writings  of  the  New  Testament, 
it  would  be  passed  by  as  literary  trash  not  of 
sufficient  importance,  either  as  to  facts  or  man- 
ner, to  attract  attention. 

As  Jude  was  one  of  the  brothers  of  Jesus,  it 
is  presumed  that  he  spoke  and  wrote  in  the  lang- 
uage of  the  Master.  The  supposed  date  of  this 
epistle,  as  given  by  different  critics,  runs  all  the 


398  APPENDIX 

way  from  A.  D.  64  to  80.  Dr.  Lardner  places 
the  date  between  64  and  66;  Davidson,  before 
A.  D.  70 ;  Credner,  A.  D.  80.  I  confess  that  my 
mind  is  not  convinced  as  to  the  language  in  which 
the  New  Testament  was  written.  But  what  of 
it?  The  human  race  is  concerned  only  in  one 
thing,  life  and  its  affairs.  Were  it  not  to  pre- 
serve life  and  secure  its  enjoyments,  we  would 
give  no  concern  to  the  pressing  present,  receding 
past,  or  promising  future;  for  there  would  be 
nothing  gained  one  way  or  the  other,  with  life 
running  on  and  spending  its  course  without  a 
human  effort.  But  we  live  now  and  must  care 
for  the  present  and  the  future,  both  of  this  life 
and  the  next. 

So  we  must  deal  with  facts,  for  we  all  have 
to  confront  them  sooner  or  later,  and  nothing 
should  have  weight  with  us  that  is  not  of  itself 
true,  though  it  be  dressed  in  the  garb  of  ancient 
cult  and  classed  as  holy, —  for  that  is  holy  only 
which  is  true. 

WHEN    WERE    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT    BOOKS 
WRITTEN? 

When  were  the  books  of  the  New  Testament 
written.''  This  is  a  question  that  has  never  been 
answered,  and  probably  never  will  be ;  except,  per- 
haps, we  can  come  nearer  arriving  at  the  dates 
of  the  writings  of  Paul  than  of  any  other  of  the 
apostles.  It  is  worthy  of  observation  that  Paul 
was  the  first  man  who  wrote  anything  about  the 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  399 

Master,  and  he  may  justly  be  considered  the 
Father  of  the  New  Testament.  Had  it  not  been 
for  Paul,  we  should  likely  never  have  been  blessed 
with  the  New  Testament,  and  without  that,  spir- 
itual darkness  would  be  hovering  over  the  world 
and  the  depravity  of  man  have  no  check. 

Perhaps  someone  asks:  What  has  Christian- 
ity done  for  the  world?  Are  not  the  people  as 
wicked  now  as  they  were  when  Greece  gave  her 
learning  to  men,  and  the  Augustan  reign  smiled 
from  the  seven  hills  of  Rome  and  blessed  the 
world  with  its  rule  of  justice.?  Were  there  more 
wars  then  than  now?  More  murders,  thieves, 
robbers,  rapes,  grafters,  and  monsters  of  human 
greed  than  now  ?  No !  I  answer  no  !  The  devil 
still  enthrones  himself  in  the  human  heart  and 
his  excursions  are  as  frequent,  perhaps,  as  when 
Cassar  fought  his  battles  in  the  daytime  and 
wrote  them  up  at  night,  or  when  Homer,  blind 
to  the  external  world,  saw  gods  dethroning  virtue 
and  demigods  ravaging  the  spoils  of  the  de- 
spoiler;  and  the  reason  is  that  Jesus  has  been 
dethroned,  except  in  name,  and  merchandise  made 
of  his  blood  by  substituting  creedalism  for  his 
truths  and  ritualism  for  his  word.  How  long 
would  the  devil  and  his  minions  stand  before  the 
guns  of  Jesus,  charged  with  his  declaration  of 
principles  at  his  first  public  meeting  in  the  city  of 
his  childhood,  when  he  prefaced  his  services  by 
reading  from  the  book  of  Esaias.  "  The  spirit  of 
the  Lord  is  upon  me,  because  he  hath  anointed  me 


400  APPENDIX 

to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  poor;  he  hath  sent 
me  to  heal  the  broken-hearted,  to  preach  deliver- 
ance to  the  captives,  and  recovering  sight  to  the 
bhnd,  to  set  at  liberty  them  that  are  bruised,  to 
preach  the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord."  Luke 
IV.  18,  19. 

How  long  could  evil  stand  before  such  a  leader 
if  his  followers  were  loyal  to  his  cause?  When  I 
use  the  word  devil,  I  mean  the  spirit  of  wrong 
that  actuates  every  degrading  or  criminal  act 
which  impels  men  on  to  vileness.  I  mean  no  harm 
in  exposing  the  pious  deviltries  spread  out  before 
me,  and  were  it  not  for  the  hope  of  good,  my 
pen  should  rust  and  my  ink  dry  in  the  horn,  for 
I  know  that  my  name  shall  be  tarnished  and  feel- 
ings crucified  for  what  little  good  I  hope  to  ac- 
complish by  exposing  those  pious  frauds  through 
which  the  people  are  innocently  led  astray  and 
made  to  be  their  own  worst  enemies, 

I  know  that  if  we  would  all  follow  the  advice 
of  James,  who  says,  "  Pure  religion  and  unde- 
filed  before  God  and  the  Father  is  this.  To  visit 
the  fatherless  and  widows  in  their  affliction,  and 
keep  himself  unspotted  from  the  world"  (James 
I.  27),  many  fat  ministers  would  lose  the  velvet 
that  now  softens  their  fingers  above  other  men. 
But  can  we  spare  the  knife  and  let  the  cancer 
kill  the  patient? 

But  to  return  to  the  comparison  of  the  different 
dates  assigned  to  the  various  books  of  the  New 
Testament.     I  quote  from  three  lists,  taken  from 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  401 

three  different  editions  of  the  Bible,  one  published 
by  the  National  Publishing  Company,  one  by  the 
International  Bible  Agency,  and  one  from  the 
New  Revision  of  the  New  Testament, 

National  Publishing  Co. 

A.D. 

Matthew 64 

Mark    64 

Luke    63  or  64 

John   68 

Acts   63  or  64 

Romans   58 

I.  Corinthians Feb.  58 

II.  Corinthians    57 

Galatians   52  or  beginning  of  53 

Ephesians    April  6l 

Philippians     62 

Colossians   62 

I.  Thessalonians  ' 52 

II.  Thessalonians   52 

I.  Timothy    56 

II.  Timothy 6l 

Titus    56 

Philemon 62 

Hebrews    63 

James    6l 

I.  Peter    64 

II.  Peter    64 

I.  John 80 

II.  John    90 

III.  John Between  80  and  QO 

Jude 64  or  65 

Revelations    95  or  96 


4m  APPENDIX 

International  Bible  Agency. 

A.D. 

Matthew 60  to  70 

Mark    67  to  70 

Luke   60  to  70 

John    80  to  95 

Acts   62  to  70 

Romans    57  or  58 

I.  Corinthians Feb.  57 

II.  Corinthians    57 

Galatians    57 

Ephesians     April  63 

Philippians    no  date 

Colossians 63 

I.  Thessalonians 52  or  early  53 

I.   Thessalonians    58 

I.  Timothy 67  or  68 

II.  Timothy    67  or  68 

Titus    66  or  67 

Philemon   63 

Hebrews   70 

James 62  or  63 

I.  Peter 64 

II.  Peter Just  before  his  execution 

I.  John    85  to  95 

II.  John 85  to  95 

III.  John   85  to  95 

Jude Date  not  known  or  place  it  was  written  at 

Revelations    95  or  96 

New  Revision  of  New  Testament. 

A.D. 

Matthew   39 

Mark     43 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  403 

A.D. 

Luke    56 

John    56 

Acts 63 

Romans 57 

I.  Corinthians Feb.  57 

II.  Corinthians    57 

Galatians    56 

Ephesians    April  56 

Philippians    62 

Colossians    62 

I.  Thessalonians    52 

II.  Thessalonians    52 

I.  Timothy 63 

II.  Timothy 63 

Titus 63 

Philemon 62 

Hebrews   62 

James    66 

I.  Peter    52 

II.  Peter 63 

I.  John 98 

II   John    98 

III.  John 98 

Jude    66 

Revelations     94 

WHERE  ARE  THE  ORIGINALS? 

There  are  no  original  manuscripts  of  the  New 
Testament  in  existence.  The  oldest  Hebrew  text 
now  extant  does  not  date  earlier  than  the  year 
1000.  The  other  manuscripts  date  no  further 
back  than  the  last  half  of  the  4th  century,  and 


404  APPENDIX 

none  of  those  contain  the  whole  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. Jerome  commenced  a  Latin  translation  of 
the  New  Testament  in  the  year  385  and  finished  it 
in  the  year  405.  He  used  the  Hebrew  manu- 
scripts, Greek,  Arabic,  and  the  Syriac,  and  from 
them  all  produced  the  New  Testament  in  Latin, 
which  is  the  basis  of  the  Vulgate.  It  is  to  be 
lamented  that  none  of  the  manuscripts  which  Je- 
rome used  in  the  production  of  his  Latin  New 
Testament  were  subject  to  revision  by  any  one 
else,  as  they  disappeared  after  he  used  them.  The 
Vulgate  is  the  basis  of  the  Catholic  Bible. 

The  superstitious  favored  the  LXX,  as  the 
edition  of  the  Old  Bible  was  called  because  it  was 
asserted  by  the  clerical  Fathers  in  charge  that 
that  Bible  was  translated  by  seventy,  or  seventy- 
two,  chosen  men  of  God  for  that  purpose.  They 
were  placed  in  separate  cells,  and  the  work  placed 
in  their  hands,  each  man  to  make  a  translation  as 
directed  by  God.  After  they  had  been  seventy 
days  in  separate  cells,  each  brought  forth  his 
work  and  the  whole  agreed  in  every  particular 
and  was  therefore  accepted  as  the  W^ord  of  God. 

Jerome's  new  translation  had  to  struggle  for  a 
place,  but  after  200  or  300  years  it  found  general 
favor  and  in  time  became  popular  among  the 
western  Christians.  In  the  9th  century,  by  the 
aid  and  countenance  of  Charlemagne,  Alcuin  cor- 
rected Jerome's  version  by  the  Hebrew  and  Greek 
originals.  Lanfranc,  archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
in  the  11th  century  gave  it  another  revision;  and 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  405 

all  the  churches  of  the  western  world  rejoiced  at 
the  light  that  great  mind  shed  upon  it. 

But  the  mother  church,  becoming  grieved  at 
the  changes  and  revisions  of  the  Vulgate,  at  the 
convention  of  Trent  (1545)  decreed  that  it  would 
take  particular  charge  of  the  work  and  have  a 
new  edition  of  the  Vulgate  made  and  that  "  it 
should  be  printed  as  accurately  as  possible."  To 
give  it  the  force  of  authenticity,  two  popes, 
Pius  IV  and  V,  undertook  the  task.  The  work 
was  finished  in  1590,  and  dubbed  "  Infallible." 
But  it  proved  to  be  so  imperfect  that  Gregory 
XIV  called  another  assembly  of  scholars  to  make 
another  revision.  This  time  the  duty  was  more 
thoroughly  performed  and  this  revision  became 
the  basis  of  other  editions. 

The  first  English  version  known  is  supposed  to 
have  been  made  in  1290.  John  De  WyclifFe, 
sometimes  called  the  "  Morning  Star  of  the  Ref- 
ormation in  England,"  in  the  year  1390  com- 
pleted a  translation  of  the  whole  Bible  in  the 
English  tongue.  This,  and  his  opposition  to 
some  of  the  practices  and  teachings  of  the  Cath- 
olic church,  drew  upon  him  the  displeasure  of 
the  pope,  and  although  he  escaped  the  stake 
during  his  life,  forty  years  after  his  death  the 
Council  of  Constance  ordered  his  bones  to  be 
burnt  and  thrown  into  a  brook.  Fuller  said  of 
the  event :  "  This  brook  has  conveyed  his  ashes 
into  the  Avon,  Avon  into  the  Severn,  Severn  into 
the  narrow  seas,  they  into  the  main  ocean,  and 


406  APPENDIX 

thus  the  ashes  of  WyclifFe  are  the  emblems  of  his 
doctrine,  which  is  now  dispersed  all  over  the 
world." 

Next  comes  Tyndale's-  version,  and  by  this 
hangs  a  curious  tale  of  diabolism  under  the  false 
cloak  of  religion.  William  Tyndale  was  bom 
in  1484,  and  was  hanged  and  burnt  at  the  stake 
Oct.  6th,  1536.  He  made  a  translation  of  the 
Scriptures.  He  was  a  Reformer  and  a  friend  to 
Martin  Luther.  In  his  time  there  was  a  law  of 
Parliament  against  any  kind  of  translation  of 
the  Scriptures.  It  was  made  a  double  crime  to 
do  so,  such  an  offense  being  treason  against  the 
government  and  heresy  against  God.  The  pen- 
alty for  treason  was  hanging,  for  heresy  it  was 
burning  at  the  stake.  Notwithstanding,  Tyndale 
made  a  translation,  for  which  he  was  arrested, 
tried,  and  found  guilty.  A  gallows  was  erected, 
under  which  was  made  a  fire.  The  condemned 
man  was  first  taken  upon  the  scaffold  and  hanged 
by  the  neck,  but  before  death  took  place  by 
strangulation  the  rope  was  cut  and  the  body,  half 
alive,  was  dropped  into  the  fire  below,  where  the 
penalty  for  heresy  was  meted  out  to  him. 

After  this,  in  1604,  King  James  determined  to 
have  a  perfect  translation  of  the  Bible  into  the 
English  tongue.  He  appointed  fifty-four  learned 
men  for  the  task,  and  instructed  them  what  previ- 
ous translations  to  use  in  the  execution  of  their 
work,  one  of  the  translations  mentioned  in  his 
list  of  authorities  being  Tyndale's  version. 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  407 

Miles  Coverdale,  a  learned  English  bishop,  took 
it  into  his  head  that  the  Bible  was  not  just  right, 
and  he  made  a  complete  translation,  concluding 
it  in  1529.  Afterwards,  John  Rogers  translated 
what  is  known  as  "Matthew's  Bible,"  which  was 
a  careful  revision  of  both  the  Tyndale  and  Cover- 
dale  revisions.  This  was  in  1537.  In  the  year 
1539,  what  was  called  the  "Great  Bible"  ap- 
peared. It  was  called  great  because  of  its  size, 
fifteen  Inches  long  and  nine  inches  wide.  It  was 
a  kind  of  compromise  production,  reconciling,  if 
possible,  the  Catholics  with  the  Reformation. 

Then  followed  quickly  Taverner's  Bible,  by 
Richard  Tavemer,  which  was  a  hasty  revision  of 
Tyndale's  translation.  This  translation  was  un- 
der the  patronage  of  Lord  Cromwell,  and  it 
passed  through  several  editions  in  the  first  few 
years.  There  seemed  to  be  a  mania  for  Bible 
making  about  that  time.  In  the  year  1540,  the 
Great  Bible  was  revised,  called  the  Cranmer  Bible, 
because  Archbishop  Cranmer  wrote  a  prologue  to 
the  edition.  The  Bible  was  printed  in  London  by 
Persian  workmen,  and  through  the  influence  of 
Cromwell  it  received  the  approbation  of  the 
king;  but  when  Cromwell  went  down.  Bishops 
Tunstall  and  Heath  were  put  In  charge  of  the 
work  of  new  editions,  and  Cromwell's  figure  on 
the  title  page  was  removed  and  a  blank  left  in  its 
place. 

In  1557  the  Genevan  New  Testament  made  Its 
appearance,    which    was    probably    the    work    of 


408  APPENDIX 

William  Whittingham,  pastor  of  the  English 
refugees.  This  was  the  first  portion  of  the  Eng- 
lish Scripture  divided  into  verse.  John  Calvin 
wrote  the  preface  and  many  of  the  marginal 
notes.  There  were  several  persons  engaged  in 
the  translation  of  the  Genevan  Bible,  among 
whom  were  Whittingham,  Coverdale,  Gilby,  Samp- 
son, Cole  and  perhaps  John  Knox. 

The  Cranmer  Bible  proving  unsatisfactory, 
Archbishop  Parker  of  Canterbury,  in  the  year 
1565  distributed  the  Cranmer  Bible  among  "  able 
bishops  and  other  learned  men  "  for  revision,  sub- 
ject, however,  to  his  own  decision.  In  the  year 
1568  the  results  of  their  labor  were  published, 
but  a  better  revision  appeared  in  1572.  This  was 
known  as  the  "  Bishops'  Bible."  This  was  the 
Bible  of  the  Established  Church,  while  the  Gene- 
van was  the  Bible  of  the  dissenters.  The  Refor- 
mation had  created  such  a  wide  difference  between 
the  Reformers  and  the  Catholics  that  they  must 
each  have  a  Bible  of  their  own  in  sentiment  and 
construction.  Geneva  was  the  place  of  refuge 
for  the  Protestants,  and  Rheims  became  the  refuge 
for  the  English  Catholics. 

In  1582  the  Catholics  issued  a  New  Testament 
translated  into  the  English  tongue,  made  from 
the  authentic  Latin.  In  1609  the  Old  Testament, 
translated  by  Roman  Catholics,  was  issued  at 
Douay.  These  two  versions  to  this  day  are  the 
English  standards  in  the  Catholic  church. 

All    the    above    versions    preceded    the    King 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  409 

James  version.  When  James  I  was  placed  upon 
the  throne  of  England,  he  found  society  divided 
up,  and  general  discontent  reigning  everywhere. 
Religion  seemed  to  be  the  most  disturbing  element 
among  them.  The  Catholic  forces  having  been 
overthrown  a  new  schism  sprang  up  between  the 
Protestants,  the  Established  Church  party  on 
the  one  side  and  the  Puritans  on  the  other.  To 
satisfy  them  the  king  called  a  conference  of 
leading  men,  that  they  might  confer  together 
and  adjust  matters  so  that  harmony  might  pre- 
vail. During  this  conference.  Dr.  John  Reynolds 
suggested  that  a  new  version  of  the  Bible  was 
exceedingly  desirable  because  of  the  many  er- 
rors in  the  Bible  then  in  use.  The  suggestion 
led  to  the  action  that  afterwards  caused  the  king 
to  appoint  fifty-four  learned  men,  with  the  in- 
structions that  they  secure  the  assistance  and 
help  "  and  furtherance  of  all  our  principal 
learned  men  within  our  kingdom."  This  un- 
biased instruction  secured  to  the  king  and  the 
work  the  hearty  cooperation  of  all  parties.  But 
it  must  be  remembered  that  the  king  gave  posi- 
tive directions  how  the  committee  should  proceed 
and  what  books  they  should  use  in  their  work. 
The  following  are  his  instructions : 

1.  The  ordinary  Bible  read  in  the  Church, 
commonly  called  the  Bishops'  Bible,  to  be  fol- 
lowed, and  as  little  altered  as  the  original  will  per- 
mit. 

2.  The  names  of  the  prophets   and  the  holy 


410  APPENDIX 

writers,  with  the  other  names  in  the  text,  to  be 
retained,  as  near  as  may  be,  accordingly  as  they 
are  vulgarly  used. 

S.  The  old  ecclesiastical  words  to  be  kept,  as 
the  word  church,  not  to  be  translated  congrega- 
tion. 

4.  When  any  word  hath  divers  significations, 
that  to  be  kept  which  hath  been  most  commonly 
used. 

5.  The  division  of  chapters  to  be  altered  either 
not  at  all,  or  as  little  as  may  be,  if  necessity  so 
require. 

6.  No  marginal  notes  at  all  to  be  affixed,  but 
only  for  the  explanation  of  the  Hebrew  or 
Greek  words,  which  cannot,  without  some  circum- 
locution, so  briefly  and  fitly  be  expressed  in  the 
text. 

7.  Such  quotations  of  places  to  be  marginally 
set  down  as  shall  serve  for  the  fit  reference  of  one 
Scripture  to  another. 

8.  Every  particular  man  of  each  company  to 
take  the  same  chapter  or  chapters ;  and,  having 
translated  or  amended  them  severally  by  himself 
where  he  thinks  good,  all  to  meet  together  to 
confirm  what  they  have  done,  and  agree  for  their 
part  what  shall  stand. 

9.  As  any  one  company  hath  dispatched  any 
one  book  in  this  manner,  they  shall  send  it  to  the 
rest,  to  be  considered  of  seriously  and  judicious- 
ly; for  his  Majesty  is  very  careful  on  this  point. 

10.  If  any  company,  upon  the  review  of  the 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  411 

book  so  sent,  shall  doubt  or  differ  upon  any  places, 
to  send  them  word  thereof,  to  note  the  places,  and 
therewithal  to  send  their  reasons;  to  which  if 
they  consent  not,  the  difference  to  be  compounded 
at  the  general  meeting,  which  is  to  be  of  the  chief 
persons  of  each  company,  at  the  end  of  the  work. 

11.  When  any  place  of  special  obscurity  is 
doubted  of,  letters  to  be  directed  by  authority  to 
send  to  any  learned  man  in  the  land  for  his  judg- 
ment of  such  a  place. 

12.  Letters  to  be  sent  from  every  bishop  to  the 
rest  of  the  clergy,  admonishing  them  of  this  trans- 
lation. 

13.  The  directors  in  each  company  to  be  the 
Deans  of  Westminster  and  Chester,  for  Westmins- 
ter, and  the  king's  professors  in  Hebrew  and 
Greek  in  the  two  universities. 

14.  These  translations  to  be  used,  when  they 
agree  better  with  the  text  than  the  Bishops'  Bible : 
Tyndale's,  Coverdale's,  Matthew's  [Rogers'], 
Whitechurch's  [Cranmer's],  Geneva. 

Three  or  four  of  the  most  ancient  and  grave 
divines,  in  either  of  the  universities,  not  em- 
ployed in  translating,  to  be  assigned  to  be  over- 
seers of  the  translation,  for  the  better  observa- 
tion of  the  fourth  rule. 

Only  forty-seven  of  the  men  appointed  for 
this  work  are  known  to  have  engaged  in  it.  These 
were  divided  into  six  companies,  two  of  which 
met  at  Oxford,  two  at  Cambridge,  and  two  at 
Westminster.     They  were  presided  over  several- 


412  APPENDIX 

ly  by  the  Dean  of  Westminster  and  by  the  two 
Hebrew  Professors  of  the  Universities. 

This  was  called  the  Authorized  Version  of  the 
Bible,  and  has  been  in  use  by  Protestant  Christ- 
ians since  1611,  and  has  been  accepted  as  author- 
itative and  correct  by  the  masses,  though  critics 
have  been  assaulting  its  authenticity  ever  since 
it  was  issued.  But  the  pulpit  called  it  the  "  In- 
fallible Word  of  God,"  and  it  had  been  the  rule 
of  faith  for  almost  three  hundred  years.  But 
criticism  became  too  keen  for  the  steadfast  clergy, 
with  the  result  that  in  February,  1870,  the  Con- 
vocation of  the  Province  of  Canterbury,  Eng- 
land, by  a  resolution  adopted  by  both  houses  of 
the  Province,  undertook  a  revision  of  the  Bible. 
Two  companies  were  formed,  one  for  the  revision 
of  the  Authorized  Version  of  the  Old  Testament 
and  one  for  the  New  Testament.  The  work  was 
commenced  on  the  twenty-second  day  of  June, 
1870. 

In  a  short  time,  by  a  resolution  passed  by 
both  houses  of  the  Convocation,  the  cooperation 
of  American  scholars  was  invited,  and  eventually 
two  companies  were  formed  in  America  for  the 
purpose  of  acting  with  the  two  English  com- 
panies. The  work  was  brought  to  a  close  and 
the  first  edition  of  the  New  Testament  printed 
Nov.  11th,  1880. 

In  this  revision  the  Revisers,  to  give  the  ap- 
pearance of  faithfulness  to  the  original  texts, 
obliterated   all   the   verses    and   chapters,    but   at 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  41S 

the  same  time  "made  punctuation  more  pro- 
nounced than  in  any  of  the  previous  editions.  It 
is  well  known  that  the  original  manuscripts  had 
no  punctuation  marks,  and  if  the  Revisers  were 
so  punctilious  as  to  chapters  and  versification  of 
the  Bible,  so  as  to  make  a  show  of  conforming 
to  the  originals,  they  ought  to  have  finished  the 
task  by  obliterating  punctuation,  for  one  is  just 
as  sensible  as  the  other.  They  complain  that 
there  were  120,000  errors  in  the  Authorized  Ver- 
sion, but  principally  in  the  matter  of  punctua- 
tion. But  how  could  there  be  errors  in  the  orig- 
inal punctuation  when  there  were  no  punctua- 
tion marks  in  the  original  manuscripts? 

Of  course  we  are  all  glad  that  they  punctuated 
so  well,  but  grieved  that  they  destroyed  the  chap- 
ters and  verses,  for  they  were  for  the  conven- 
ience of  the  public  in  reading  and  reference.  It 
is  too  late  now  to  be  sticklers  on  the  original 
manuscripts,  for  no  one  knows  anything  about 
them.  They  have  been  in  the  tomb  of  oblivion 
for  over  a  thousand  years,  and  the  Bible  has 
been  tampered  with,  revised,  translated,  and  re- 
revised  by  irresponsible  parties,  every  one  for  self- 
ish purposes,  until  now  it  puts  honest  conviction  to 
shame  for  any  one  to  pretend  that  our  present 
Bible  is  a  copy  of  the  originals.  All  we  can 
say,  and  all  that  is  necessary  to  say,  is  that  the 
Bible  holds  a  place  in  the  literature  of  our  tongue, 
and  no  one  can  pretend  to  be  educated  without  a 
fair  knowledge  of  its  contents.     And  no  one  can 


414  APPENDIX 

deny  in  that  book  beauty  of  lan^age,  sub- 
limity of  thought,  and  the  Hght  of  moral  precepts 
that  will  lead  any  man  aright  if  they  be  fol- 
lowed ;  but  there  is,  withal,  some  very  bad  morals 
and  detestable  language. 

BIBLICAL  ERRORS 

I  quote  from  the  Reviser's  edition  of  the  New 
Testament  of  1881,  page  54:  "  Concerning  ex- 
isting defects  it  may  be  said  briefly,  that  the 
variations  already  detected  and  noted  as  existing 
in  various  manuscripts,  versions,  and  editions 
amount  to  about  120,000.  It  is  doubtful  if  any 
two  editions  of  the  Bible,  as  now  published,  are 
exactly  alike.  But  of  this  large  number  of  errors 
it  is  probable  that  at  least  90,000  are  of  small 
importance." 

From  the  Note  by  authors  of  the  Revised  New 
Testament  I  glean  a  few  errors  that  they  have 
exhumed  in  their  researches  in  old  editions  of  the 
Bible.  Out  of  the  many  I  have  space  for  but  a 
few. 

In  the  Matthews  Bible  of  1551,  in  translating 
Psalms  xci.  5,  the  Psalmist  is  made  to  say :  "So 
that  thou  shalt  not  nede  to  be  afrayed  for  any 
buggs  by  night." 

In  the  Genevan  Bible  of  1560,  in  rendering 
Gen.  III.  7,  Moses  has  the  credit  of  saying : 
"  They  sewed  fig-leaves  together  and  made  them- 
selves breeches."     The   WychfFe  Bible   of   1382 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  415 

had  the  same  rendering.  The  Golden  Legend 
made  the  same  rendering. 

The  Bishops'  Bible  of  1568  says;  "Is  there 
no  tryacle  in  Gilead?"  The  Douay  Bible  of  1610 
has  it :   "  Is  there  no  rosin  in  Gilead  ?" 

Cotton  Mather  tells  of  a  Bible  before  1702  in 
which  David  is  made  to  say,  in  Psalm  cxix.  161 : 
'^Printers  have  persecuted  me  without  cause." 

In  an  edition  of  the  Authorized  Version  of 
1653,  I.  Cor.  VI.  9  was  made  to  read:  "Know 
ye  not  that  the  unrighteous  shall  inherit  the  king- 
dom of  God.?" 

In  the  Oxford  Bible  of  1804,  Paul  says,  in 
Gal.  V.  17:  "For  the  flesh  lusteth  after  the 
spirit." 

In  the  Genevan  Bible  of  1562,  the  chapter 
heading  of  Luke  xxi,  reads :  "  Christ  condemeth 
the  poor  widow." 

In  Matthew  of  the  same  edition,  v.  9,  in  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  Jesus  is  made  to  say: 
"  Blessed  are  the  place-makers,  for  they  shall  be 
called  the  children  of  God." 

In  the  Authorized  Version  of  Oxford,  1717,  in 
the  parable  of  the  vine,  Luke  xx,  the  heading  of 
the  chapter  is :     "  The  parable  of  the  vinegar." 

In  the  Cambridge  Bible  of  1805,  in  Gal.  iv. 
29,  is  this :  "  Persecuted  him  that  was  born  after 
the  spirit  to  remain  even  so  it  is  now." 

In  the  Authorized  Version  of  1631,  in  giving 
the  ten  commandments,  the  third  one  reads : 
"Thou  shalt  commit  adultery."    The  same  render- 


416  APPENDIX 

ing,  a  century  later,  in  the  German  language,  is 
found  in  the  Lenox  Library  in  New  York. 

In  all  the  Bibles  for  the  last  hundreds  of  years 
the  Lord's  Prayer  as  rendered  in  our  Old  Bible 
has  been  kept  up  and  every  child  in  the  land 
knows  it,  but  the  New  Version  has  taken  out  its 
very  vitals.  The  Old  Bible  says :  "  Forgive  us 
our  debts  as  we  forgive  our  debtors."  The  New 
Version  says:  "Forgive  us  our  debts  as  we  also 
have  forgiven  our  debtors."  And  "  deliver  us 
from  the  evil  one,"  instead  of  from  "  evil."  That 
beautiful  ending,  "  And  thine  is  the  kingdom, 
and  the  power,  and  the  glory,  forever.  Amen." 
has  been  omitted  entirely  in  the  Revised  Version. 
Luke,  in  chapter  ii.,  gives  the  Lord's  Prayer 
somewhat  differently. 

Since  about  the  7th  century  this  verse  in  I 
John  v.  7  has  been  a  prominent  doctrinal  author- 
ity on  the  Godhead,  "  For  there  are  three  that 
bear  witness  in  heaven,  the  Father,  the  Word,  and 
the  Holy  Ghost,  and  these  three  are  one."  This 
verse  is  entirely  eliminated  in  the  Revised  Version. 

If  anyone  has  a  lingering  doubt  that  the  Bible 
is  a  scientific  book  from  end  to  end,  let  him  read 
the  following,  and  then  with  a  heart  of  contrition 
ask  forgiveness  for  his  want  of  discernment.  I 
also  take  this  from  the  Revised  Version  of  the 
New  Testament  of  1881,  page  116. 

An  Improved  Version.  In  1754  there  was  pub- 
lished in  London,  "Genesis.  The  first  chapter 
by  way  of  Essay  towards  an  Interpretation  of 


THE  NEW  TESTAMENT  417 

the  whole  Pentateuch."  Cotton  quotes  from  the 
"  Gentleman's  Magazine  "  for  August,  1754,  the 
following  as  a  specimen : 

"  1.  ^Elohim,  beginning,  created  lucid  and  illu- 
cid  matter.  2.  And  the  illucid,  void  of  co-ad- 
junct cohesion,  was  unmodified,  and  distinguish- 
ableness  was  no  where  upon  the  face  of  chaos; 
And  the  Ruach  of  ^fElohim  emanated  over  the  per- 
iphery of  the  fluctuation.  3.  Until  yElohim  said 
that  JEther  should  coallesce  to  the  production  of 
light.  4.  And  ^^lohim  saw  the  light  was  good, 
when  it  was  become  a  separation  from  obscurity. 
5.  And  ^lohim  deemed  this  day-light,  and  the 
obscurity  was  yet  as  night,  which  was  light,  and 
obscuration  the  consummation  of  the  first  day." 
Amen. 


THE  EARLY  GODS 

In  going  back  in  our  imaginations  to  the  days 
of  ancient  knowledge,  we  must  view  men  as  they 
were, —  from  their  standpoint,  and  not  from  ours. 
We  are  a  different  people  and  resemble  the  ancient 
Israelites  only  in  our  physical  make-up.  We  are 
not  like  them  in  thought,  morals,  education,  re- 
finement, society,  government,  laws,  language,  or 
religion.  They  were  a  hardy,  crude,  pastoral 
class.  They  could  not,  until  well  along  in  their 
advancement  as  a  people,  either  read  or  write, 
and  then  the  priests  alone  enjoyed  those  ac- 
complishments. The  masses  were  ignorant,  su- 
perstitious, and  warlike  in  nature.  They  knew 
nothing  of  the  physical  divisions  of  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  nor  of  its  conformation.  They 
were  ignorant  of  the  ph^^sical  sciences  and  of  the 
rules  of  civil  government.  They  were  governed 
through  the  forces  of  religion  acting  on  their  emo- 
tions and  credulity.  They  knew  that  there  were 
invisible  powers,  which  under  certain  conditions 
influenced  men  in  this  life.  The  secrets  of  obtain- 
ing this  information  were  confined  to  the  keeping 
of  the  high  priests,  prophets,  and  afterwards  the 
apostles.  Those  invisible  powers  they  called  gods 
we  call  spirits.  From  this  source  came  the  gods 
of  the  Bible. 

The  first  three  Gospels  of  the  New  Testament 
418 


THE  EARLY  GODS  419 

do  not  command  us  to  worship.  They  do  not 
make  worship  an  act  of  saving  ordinance.  In 
fact,  Jesus  circumscribed  it  to  a  spiritual  act  and 
not  to  a  physical  manifestation. 

When  the  woman  met  Jesus  at  the  well,  she 
said  unto  him,  "  Our  Fathers  worshipped  in  this 
mountain ;  and  ye  say  that  in  Jerusalem  is  the 
place  where  men  ought  to  worship."  Jesus  said 
unto  her,  "  Ye  worship  ye  know  not  what ;  we 
know  what  we  worship,  for  salvation  is  of  the 
Jews ;  but  the  hour  cometh  and  now  is,  when  the 
true  worshippers  shall  worship  the  Father  in  spirit 
and  in  truth;  for  the  Father  seeketh  such  to 
worship  Him.  God  is  a  spirit,  and  they  that 
worship  him  must  worship  him  in  spirit  and  in 
truth."     John  iv.  20-24. 

Jesus  here  spoke  of  the  god  of  the  Jews,  which 
we  can  do  well  to  take  up  and  investigate  as  a 
principle.  Jesus  used  no  idle  words  in  his  in- 
structions to  his  followers. 

Every  god  that  has  made  a  manifestation  to 
man,  mentioned  in  the  Bible,  has  done  so  as  an 
individual  power,  for  a  particular  purpose,  at  a 
particular  time,  to  a  particular  people.  Those 
gods  gave  orders  to  their  subordinates  of  this  life 
and  often  talked  to  men,  face  to  face,  as  one  man 
talks  to  another.  They  appeared  in  many  ways 
to  the  Jewish  people ;  sometimes  in  material  forms, 
as  the  three  spirits  did  to  Abraham ;  sometimes  in 
a  dream,  as  they  did  to  Joseph ;  sometimes  in  a 
vision,  as  to  Zacharias  in  the  temple ;  sometimes 


420  APPENDIX 

in  tongues,  as  at  the  Penticost ;  sometimes  by 
transfiguration,  as  to  Jesus  on  the  Mount,  when 
Moses  and  EHas  appeared  in  a  materialized  con- 
dition to  him,  James,  John,  and  Peter. 

Those  manifesting  spirits  were  not  intended  to 
be  worshipped,  any  more  than  people  in  this  life 
are  intended  for  worship. 

We  view  life  on  the  other  side  of  the  tomb  as  we 
view  all  other  questions,  in  a  philosophical  man- 
ner. Who  are  those  on  the  other  side  of  life? 
They  are  people  who  once  lived  on  this  side,  and 
are  just  the  kind  that  left  here,  no  better,  no 
worse.  People  change  their  conditions,  not  their 
natures,  in  the  act  of  dying.  A  good  man  here 
is  a  good  man  there.  A  bad  man  here  is  a  bad 
man  there.  An  intellectual  man  here  is  an  intel- 
lectual man  there.     A  fool  is  a  fool  everywhere. 

That  spirits  on  the  other  side  of  life  influence 
people  on  this  side  has  been  proven  in  all  ages, 
among  all  nations,  peoples,  and  clans.  All 
classes,  from  the  very  humblest  to  the  most  ex- 
alted, have  given  proofs  of  spirit  power.  All 
Sacred  Books  and  all  religions  are  founded  on 
this  theory.  All  national  histories  furnish  proofs 
of  such  power,  and  I  will  not  presume  to  raise  my 
voice  against  the  evidence  of  the  world  repeated 
over  and  over  again.  They  do  in  the  other  life 
what  they  did  here,  some  endeavoring  to  upbuild, 
and  some  to  tear  down,  as  in  our  own  human  so- 
ciety. 

From  those  various  classes  sprang  the  gods  of 


THE  EARLY  GODS  421 

the  Old  Bible,  who  at  different  times  manifested 
in  one  way,  sometimes  in  another.  A  partial  list 
of  these  I  herewith  append,  from  my  former 
work,  "  Orthopaedia." 

The  word  God  is  mentioned  over  three  thousand 
four  hundred  times  in  the  Bible.  Of  course  we 
cannot  elaborate  on  each  mention  of  the  name,  but 
must  be  content  with  a  few  quotations,  which,  we 
think,  will  suffice  to  show  that  there  are  many 
gods  mentioned  with  no  evidence  whatever  that 
they  were  all  esteemed  all-perfect,  all-wise,  or  all- 
abounding  in  nature.  The  endeavor  to  make  the 
Bible  the  mouthpiece  of  one  God  only  is  a  con- 
ception of  later  times,  that  it  may  be  made  to  con- 
form to  the  genius  of  the  age  of  progress.  It 
seems  that  man-made  gods  must  progress  to  keep 
pace  with  the  people. 

The  word  God,  in  the  original,  is  Elohim,  and 
Elohim  is  the  plural  of  God.  (Smith's  Diction- 
ary of  the  Bible,  definition  of  "  God.")  Note  the 
first  verse  of  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  which 
starts  out  with  an  individual  Deity,  called  God,  a 
creator.  In  the  very  inception  of  the  Bible  we 
are  plainly  informed  of  the  plurality  of  gods  ;  for 
in  the  winding  up  of  the  six  days  of  creation 
(Gen.  I.  26)  "And  God  (Elohim,  gods)  said, 
Let  us  make  man  in  our  image  after  our  like- 
ness." "  So  God  created  man  in  his  own  image ; 
in  the  image  of  God  created  he  him ;  male  and  fe- 
male created  he  them."  (i.  27).  This  ended  the 
work  of  creation.  God  then  rested  from  his 
labor. 


42^  APPENDIX 

The  proper  reading  should  be,  "  The  gods 
created  man  in  their  own  Hkeness.  In  their  own 
hkeness  created  they  them.  Male  and  female 
created  they  them.  And  the  gods  rested  from  all 
their  labors."  But  as  the  Bible  now  reads,  God 
is  made  to  hold  a  conversation  with  other  gods, 
and  at  the  same  time  we  are  told  there  were  no 
other  gods  for  him  to  talk  to.  When  God  said, 
*'  let  us  make  man  in  our  own  image,"  he  must 
have  been  speaking  to  some  other  god,  for  there 
was  no  man  to  speak  to  at  that  time. 

God,  the  Creator,  now  retires  from  view.  In 
the  second  chapter  of  Genesis,  the  Lord  God  is 
introduced  and  another  pair  of  human  beings  is 
made,  not  created ;  the  first  pair  God  created,  the 
second  pair,  which  was  Adam  and  Eve,  the  Lord 
God  made. 

Gen.  n.  5,  6,  7 :  "  And  there  was  not  a  man  to 
till  the  ground ;  and  there  went  up  a  mist  from  the 
earth  and  watered  the  whole  face  of  the  ground, 
and  the  lord  god  fonned  man  out  of  the  dust  of 
the  ground,  and  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the 
breath  of  life,  and  man  became  a  living  soul." 

This  Lord  God  then  took  Adam  and  placed 
him  in  the  garden  of  Eden,  with  orders  to  "  dress 
it  and  keep  it ;"  but  he  had  no  wife  and  was  lone- 
some, so  this  Lord  God  took  pity  on  him,  put 
him  to  sleep,  and  made  a  woman  out  of  his  rib. 
Now  mark,  this  was  after  the  six  days  of  creation 
and  was  along  in  the  period  of  the  organization 
of  business  on  the  earth,  how  long  no  one  knows ; 


THE  EARLY  GODS  423 

but  that  it  was  after  the  six  days  of  creation  is 
certain,  and  long  enough  for  an  orchard  to  grow, 
which  takes  several  years  at  least. 

Gen,  II.  21,  22:  "  And  the  Lord  God  caused 
a  deep  sleep  to  fall  upon  Adam,  and  he  slept, 
and  he  took  one  of  his  ribs  and  closed  up  the  flesh 
instead  thereof,  and  the  rib  which  the  Lord  God 
had  taken  from  man  he  made  woman,  and  brought 
her  unto  man." 

The  plurality  of  Bible  gods  appears  again  in 
the  colloquy  of  Eve  and  the  serpent,  and  the  con- 
fession of  God  to  the  truth  of  what  the  serpent 
said.     Gen.  iii.  1-23. 

Verses  2,  3,  4,  5 :  "  And  the  woman  said  unto 
the  serpent.  We  may  eat  of  the  fruits  of  the  trees 
of  the  garden :  but  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  which 
is  in  the  midst  of  the  garden  God  hath  said.  Ye 
shall  not  eat  of  it,  neither  shall  ye  touch  it  lest  ye 
die.  And  the  serpent  said  unto  the  woman.  Ye 
shall  not  surely  die:  for  God  doth  know  that  in 
the  day  ye  eat  thereof,  then  your  eyes  shall  be 
opened ;  and  ye  shall  be  as  gods,  knowing  good 
and  evil." 

Eve  ate  and  gave  to  Adam  and  he  ate  also,  and 
then  their  eyes  were  opened  and  they  saw  that  they 
were  naked.  God  came  down  and  missing  the 
pair,  called  unto  Adam,  and  said,  "  Where  art 
thou  ?  "  The  reader  will  please  observe  that  God 
did  not  know  where  Adam  and  Eve  were,  nor  did 
he  know  that  they  had  eaten  of  the  forbidden 
fruit  until  they  confessed  the  sin  to  him.     Had 


424.  APPENDIX 

this  god  been  all-wise  he  would  have  known  of  his 
own  wisdom. 

Gen.  II.  22.  And  the  Lord  God  said,  "  Behold 
the  man  has  become  as  one  of  us,  to  know  good 
and  evil:  and  now  lest  he  put  forth  his  hand  and 
take  also  of  the  tree  of  life,  and  eat,  and  live 
forever,"  he  was  sent  out  of  the  garden.  Now 
this  was  the  Lord  God  speaking,  the  same  one  that 
made  Adam  and  Eve,  and  from  his  own  mouth  we 
are  informed  that  Adam  had  become  as  one  of  the 
gods,  working  in  harmony  with  them  "  to  know 
good  and  evil." 

The  Jews,  like  the  surrounding  nations,  believed 
that  the  gods  held  social  intercourse  and  brought 
forth  offspring;  for  we  are  told  (Gen.  vi.  2)  that 
the  sons  of  God  saw  the  daughters  of  men,  that 
they  were  fair;  and  they  took  them  wives  of  all 
which  they  chose,  and  children  were  the  result 
of  such  marriages. 

Verse  4 :  "  There  were  giants  in  the  earth  in 
those  days ;  and  also  after  that,  when  the  sons  of 
God  came  in  unto  the  daughters  of  men,  and  bore 
children  unto  them,  the  same  became  mighty  men, 
which  were  of  old,  men  of  renown."  It  was  very 
common  in  the  days  of  myths  to  have  gods  con- 
sorting with  earth-women  and  bringing  up  chil- 
dren of  great  parts ;  they  never  brought  forth  a 
dwarf,  fool,  or  good  man. 

We  now  have  a  slight  introduction  to  the  Lord, 
one  of  the  original  makers  of  the  earth,  as  quite  a 
capricious  kind  of  being ;  a  being  that  had  a  heart, 


THE  EARLY  GODS  425 

one  that  was  subject  to  grief,  got  angry,  saw 
with  his  eyes,  repented  and  forgave  some,  and  de- 
stroyed the  whole  world  besides. 

Gen.  VI.  5,  6,  7,  8.  "  God  saw  that  the  wicked- 
ness of  man  was  great  in  the  earth ....  And  it  re- 
pented the  Lord  that  he  had  made  man  on  the 
earth.  .  .  .And  the  Lord  said,  I  will  destroy  man 
whom  I  have  created  from  the  face  of  the  ground. 
.  .  .  .But  Noah  found  grace  in  the  ej^es  of  the 
Lord."  Noah  and  his  family  journeyed  to  a 
plain  in  the  land  of  Shinar  and  there  commenced 
to  build  for  themselves  a  city  and  a  tower. 

Gen.  XI.  4,  5,  7.  "  And  the  Lord  came  down 
to  see  the  city  and  the  tower  which  the  children 
of  men  builded."  This  Lord  was  deficient  in 
knowledge,  or  he  would  not  have  been  compelled 
to  go  down  to  see  what  Noah  and  his  people  were 
doing. 

"  Go  to,  let  us  go  down  and  there  confound 
their  language,  that  they  may  not  understand  one 
another's  speech."  The  Lord  was  speaking  to 
some  other  god  and  asked  assistance  in  the  work 
of  confounding  their  language.  There  were 
grades  among  the  gods,  and  of  course  gods  of 
diflPerent  powers,  which  Abram  knew.  Gen.  xiv. 
23.  "  Abram  said  unto  the  king  of  Sodom,  I 
have  lift  up  mine  hand  unto  the  Lord  the  most 
HIGH  GOD,  the  possessor  of  heaven  and  earth." 
The  lower  gods  he  does  not  name. 

Gen.  XVI.  9-13.  Hager  saw  an  Angel,  Lord 
and  God,  all  in  one  being.     Verse  9 :     "  And  the 


426  APPENDIX 

angel  of  the  Lord  said  unto  her,  Return  to  thy 
mistress."  Verse  13 :  "  And  she  called  the  name 
of  the  Lord  that  spake  unto  her:  Thou  God 
seest  me." 

Gen.  XVII.  1.  "  And  when  Abram  was  ninety- 
years  old  and  nine,  the  Lord  appeared  unto  Abram 
and  said  unto  him  i  am  the  almighty  god." 
Verse  4 :  "  Behold  my  covenant  is  with  thee  and 
thou  shalt  be  a  father  of  many  nations,  neither 
shalt  thy  name  any  more  be  called  Abram,  but 
thy  name  shall  be  Abraham."  Verse  9:  "And 
I  will  establish  my  covenant  between  me  and  thee, 
and  thy  seed  after  thee,  in  the  generations  for  an 
everlasting  covenant,  to  be  a  god  unto  thee  and 
THY  SEED  AFTER  THEE."  Tliis  Almighty  being 
was  to  be  a  god  to  Abraham  and  his  seed.  Not 
the  God,  but  a  god.  And  this  god  established 
a  covenant  between  Abraham  and  his  seed,  and 
that  covenant  was  circumcision.  Verse  10: 
"  This  is  my  covenant  which  ye  shall  keep  between 
me  and  you  and  thy  seed  after  thee ;  every  man- 
child  among  you  shall  be  circumcised."  Those 
who  are  not  circumcised  do  not  belong  to  this  god. 

In  the  story  of  the  destiniction  of  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah  (Gen.  xrx)  several  gods  figure  under 
different  names.  They  were  sometimes  called  men, 
sometimes  angels.  Lord,  and  God.  In  Gen.  xxiv. 
3,  Abraham  made  his  eldest  servant  swear  by  two 
gods  not  to  make  his  son  marry  a  Canaanite 
woman.  "  And  I  will  make  thee  swear  by  the 
Lord,  the  god  of  heaven,  and  the  god  of  the  earth, 


THE  EARLY  GODS  427 

that  thou  shalt  not  take  a  wife  unto  my  son  of 
the  daughters  of  the  Canaanites,  among  whom  I 
dwell."  Had  he  spoken  of  the  god  of  heaven  and 
earth,  he  would  have  been  speaking  of  one  god. 
But  he  made  him  swear  by  the  god  of  heaven  and 
the  god  of  the  earth,  evidently  meaning  two  gods. 

Gen.  XXXI.  11-13.  Abraham  had  a  visitation 
from  the  god  of  Beth-el,  who  was  simply  an 
angel.  "  And  the  angel  of  God  spake  unto  me  in 
a  dream  saying,  Jacob,  and  I  said.  Here  am  I ; 
and  he  said.  Lift  up  now  thine  eyes  and  see  all 
the  rams  that  leap"  upon  the  cattle  are  ring- 
streaked,  speckled,  and  grisled:  for  I  have  seen 
all  that  Laban  hath  done  unto  thee.  I  am  the 
God  of  Beth-el,"  Laban  and  Jacob  introduce 
the  God  of  Nahor,  which  is  a  new  God. 

Gen.  XXXI.  53:  "The  God  of  Abraham  and 
the  God  of  Nahor,  the  God  of  their  father  judge 
between  us."  Gen.  xxxii.  1 :  "  And  Jacob  went 
on  his  way  and  the  angels  of  God  met  him,  and 
when  Jacob  saw  them,  he  said,  This  is  God's 
host." 

We  now  come  to  a  queer  story  concerning  a 
great  wrestling  match  between  Jacob  and  God, 
which  is  certainly  inconsistent  with  the  idea  of 
the  Creator  of  all  things,  and  the  only  rational 
conclusion  that  any  one  can  come  to  is  that  the 
god  here  referred  to  was  nothing  more  than  a 
materialized  spirit. 

Gen.  XXXIII.  24,  29,  30.  "  And  Jacob  was  left 
alone  and  there  wrestled  a  man  with  him  until  the 


428  APPENDIX 

break  of  day.  And  Jacob  asked  him  and  said, 
Tell  me,  I  pray  thee,  thy  name?  And  he  said. 
Wherefore  is  it  that  thou  dost  ask  after  my  name  ? 
And  he  blessed  him  there,  and  Jacob  called  the 
name  of  the  place  Penial:  for  I  have  seen  god 
face  to  face  and  mj^  life  is  preserved." 

If  there  is  any  doubt  that  this  man  who  wrestled 
with  Jacob  was  esteemed  a  god,  and  in  fact  was 
nothing  more  than  a  spirit  whom  Jacob  recog- 
nized as  god,  and  was  in  fact  the  god  of  Jacob, 
turn  to  Gen.  xxxv.  1 :  "  And  God  said  unto  Ja- 
cob, Arise,  go  up  to  Beth-el,  and  dwell  there ;  and 
make  there  an  altar  unto  god,  that  appeared  unto 
thee  when  thou  fleddest  from  the  face  of  Esau 
thy  brother."  Jacob  was  fleeing  from  Esau  when 
he  had  that  wonderful  wrestling  match.  In 
verse  11,  this  same  god  appeared  unto  Jacob  and 
said  unto  him,  "  i  am  god  almighty,"  but  it  took 
him  all  night  to  get  the  better  of  Jacob. 

Jacob  is  afterwards  visited  by  another  god,  who 
seems  to  be  the  god  of  Isaac,  which  fact  this  god 
made  known  to  Jacob.  Gen.  xlvi.  1,  2,  3: 
"  And  Israel  took  his  j  ourney  with  all  that  he 
had,  and  came  to  Beer-Sheba  and  offered  sacrifice 
unto  the  god  of  his  father  Isaac.  And  God  spake 
unto  Israel  in  the  visions  of  the  night,  and  said, 
Jacob,  Jacob.  And  he  said,  Here  am  I.  And  he 
said,  I  am  God,  the  God  of  thy  father;  fear  not 
to  go  down  to  Egypt." 

The  god  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  was 
nothing  more  than  an-  angel,  and  an  angel  is  a 


THE  EARLY  GODS  429 

spirit  of  the  advanced  degrees  who  was  one  of  the 
spirit  guides  of  Moses.  Exodus  iii.  1-6:  "  Now 
Moses  kept  the  flock  of  Jethro  his  father-in- 
law  ....  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  unto 
him  in  a  flame  of  fire,  out  of  the  midst  of  a  bush 
....  And  Moses  said,  I  will  turn  aside  and  see  this 
great  sight.  .  .  .And  when  the  Lord  saw  that  he 
turned  aside  to  see,  God  called  to  him  out  of  the 
midst  of  the  bush,  and  said,  Moses,  Moses.  And 
Moses  said,  Here  am  I.  And  he  said.  Draw  not 
nigh  hither;  put  off'  thy  shoes  from  off  thy  feet, 
for  the  place  where  on  thou  standest  is  holy 
ground.  Moreover,  he  said,  I  am  the  god  of  thy 
father,  the  god  of  Abraham,  the  god  of  Isaac, 
and  the  god  of  Jacob.  And  Moses  hid  his  face; 
for  he  was  afraid  to  look  upon  God." 

In  further  proof  that  this  god  was  nothing 
more  than  a  spirit  of  limited  knowledge  and  not 
a  ubiquitous  being  peruse  the  whole  third  chapter 
of  Exodus  and  especially  verses  7,  8,  9 :  "  And 
the  Lord  said,  I  have  surely  seen  the  affliction  of 
my  people.  And  I  have  come  down  to  deliver 
them  out  of  the  hand  of  the  Egyptians.  Now, 
therefore,  behold,  the  cry  of  the  children  of  Israel 
has  come  unto  me." 

Moses  was  then  instructed  to  go  to  Pharaoh 
and  intercede  with  him  to  let  the  children  of  Israel 
go,  and  when  Moses  objected  this  spirit  said,  I 
will  surely  be  with  thee,  just  as  spirit  guides  tell 
their  mediums  that  they  will  be  with  them  in  un- 
dertakings which  are  approved  of  by  the  spirit. 


430  APPENDIX 

The  children  of  Israel  understood  that  there  was 
more  than  one  god,  or  spirit,  recognized  as  gods 
of  their  fathers,  and  known  by  different  names, 
just  as  different  controlling  spirits  are  now  known 
by  different  names  by  their  mediums. 

Moses  was  anxious  to  know  the  name  of  the 
spirit,  or  god,  that  was  talking  to  him  and  giving 
him  instructions  to  undertake  the  task  of  deliver- 
ing the  children  of  Israel  out  of  their  Egyptian 
bondage.  Verses  13,  14 :  "  And  Moses  said  unto 
God,  Behold,  when  I  come  unto  the  children  of 
Israel,  and  shall  say  unto  them.  The  god  of  your 
fathers  hath  sent  me  unto  you ;  and  they  shall 
say  unto  me,  what  is  his  name?  what  shall  I  say 
unto  them?  And  God  said  unto  Moses,  i  am 
THAT  I  AM :  and  he  said,  Thus  shalt  thou  say  unto 
the  children  of  Israel,  i  am  hath  sent  me  unto 
you."     "  And  this  is  my  name  forever." 

Ex.  XXIX.  45.  "  And  I  will  dwell  among  the 
children  of  Israel  and  be  their  god." 

Ex.  XXXIII.  "  And  the  Lord  spake  unto 
Moses  face  to  face,  as  a  man  speaketh  unto  his 
friend."  Spirits  often  speak  to  their  mediums  in 
this  way. 

That  there  were  many  gods  that  the  children  of 
Israel  recognized  let  the  following  verses  give  evi- 
dence : 

Ex.  XV.  11.  "  Who  is  like  unto  thee,  O  Lord, 
among  the  gods?  Who  is  like  thee,  glorious  in 
holiness,  fearful  in  praise,  doing  wonders."  Ex. 
XX.  3 :     "  Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods  before 


THE  EARLY  GODS  431 

me."  Now  if  we  come  across  any  other  god  we 
may  know  that  it  is  not  this  one  who  wrote  the  ten 
commandments,  for  i  am  is  not  to  have  his  name 
changed,  but  he  is  a  generous  god  and  com- 
mands due  respect  to  be  paid  to  other  gods.  Ex. 
xxn.  28 :  "  Thou  shalt  not  revile  the  gods,  nor 
curse  the  ruler  of  thy  people,"  says  i  am. 

We  are  now  introduced  to  another  god  whose 
name  is  jealous,  and  who  had  not  the  respect  for 
other  gods  that  i  am  had.  Ex.  xxxiv.  6 :  "  And 
the  Lord  passed  before  him  (Moses),  and  pro- 
claimed, the  Lord,  the  Lord  God,  merciful  and 
gracious,  long  suffering,  and  abundant  in  good- 
ness and  truth."  Verse  9 :  And  Moses  said,  "  If 
now  I  have  found  grace  in  thy  sight,  O  Lord,  let 
my  lord  go  among  us,  and  take  us  for  thine  inher- 
itance. Verse  12:  "  Take  heed  of  thyself,  (said 
this  god,)  lest  thou  make  a  covenant  with  the 
inhabitants  of  the  land  whither  thou  goest,  lest 
it  be  for  a  snare  in  the  midst  of  thee ;  but  ye  shall 
destroy  their  altars,  break  their  images,  and  cut 
down  their  groves ;  for  thou  shalt  worship  no 
other  god :  for  the  Lord,  whose  name  is  jealous, 
is  a  jealous  god."  Yes,  he  was  jealous  and  mean 
besides,  and  quite  different  in  disposition  from 
I  am. 

Next  we  come  to  a  warlike  spirit,  of  whom 
there  were  many.  Ex.  xv.  2,  3 :  "  The  Lord  is 
my  strength  and  song  and  he  is  becoming  my  sal- 
vation: he  is  my  god  and  I  will  prepare  for  him 
an  habitation;  my  father's  god  and  I  will  exalt 


432  APPENDIX 

him.  The  Lord  is  a  man  of  war.  The  loed  is 
his  name." 

Passing  to  Deuteronomy  we  are  informed  of 
the  greatness  of  one  of  the  gods  of  the  children 
of  Israel.  Deut.  x.  17 :  "  For  the  Lord  your 
god  is  the  God  of  gods  and  Lord  of  lords,  a  great 
God,  a  mighty  and  terrible,  which  regardeth  not 
persons  nor  taketh  rewards."  If  that  be  true, 
then  he  must  have  disapproved  the  practice  of  the 
children  of  Israel  of  offering  sacrifices  to  other 
gods. 

Joshua  XXIV.  14:  "Therefore  fear  the  Lord 
and  serve  him  in  sincerity  and  in  truth,  and  put 
away  the  gods  which  your  fathers  served  on  the 
other  side  of  the  flood  and  in  Egypt,  and  serve  ye 
the  Lord."  Judges  x.  6 :  "  And  the  children  of 
Israel  did  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  and  served 
Baalim,  and  Ashtaroth,  and  the  gods  of  Syria, 
and  the  gods  of  Zidon,  and  the  gods  of  Moab 
and  the  gods  of  the  children  of  Ammon,  and  the 
gods  of  the  Philistines,  who  forsook  the  Lord  and 
served  not  him." 

In  the  tenth  chapter  of  Judges,  we  have  the 
combination  of  "  an  angel  of  the  Lord,  a  man 
of  God,  and  the  Lord,"  all  of  whom  were  gods. 
Judges  xin.  S-23 :  The  narration  is  too  long  to 
quote  here,  but  the  important  points  are  as  fol- 
lows :  Verse  3 :  "  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  ap- 
peared unto  the  woman" ....  Verse  6 :  And  then 
the  woman  came  and  told  her  husband  saying,  "  A 
man  of  god  came  unto  me,  and  his  countenance 


THE  EARLY  GODS  433 

was  like  the  countenance  of  an  angel  of  God,  very 
terrible." ....  Verse  8 :  "  Then  Manoah  entreated 
the  Lord,  and  said,  0  my  Lord,  let  the  man  of 
God  which  thou  didst  send  come  again  unto  us." 

Verse  21 :     "  But  the  angel  of  the  Lord  did 

no  more  appear  unto  Manoah  and  to  his  wife  and 
Manoah  knew  that  he  was  an  angel  of  the  Lord, 
and  Manoah  said  unto  his  wife,  We  shall  surely 
die  because  we  have  seen  God." 

Ruth  I.  11 :  "  And  Naomi  said,  Turn  again, 
my  daughters,  why  will  ye  go  with  me."  Verses 
15,  16:  "  Behold  thy  sister-in-law  has  gone  back 
unto  her  people  and  unto  her  gods."  "  And 
Ruth  said.  Entreat  me  not  to  leave  thee,  nor  to  re- 
turn from  following  after  thee,  for  whither  thou 
goest  I  will  go,  and  where  thou  lodgest  I  will 
lodge ;  thy  people  shall  be  my  people,  and  thy  god 
my   god." 

We  often  find  references  to  the  god  of  Israel 
and  of  Jacob,  but  here  appears  a  different  god,  the 
Lord  God  of  Hosts.  11.  Sam.  x :  "  And  David 
went  on  and  grew  great;  and  the  Lord  God  of 
Hosts  was  with  him."  Here  is  another  god  which 
administered  unto  David  who  had  a  special  resi- 
dence, which  was  on  the  Mercy  seat  between  the 
cherubim  of  the  ark.  II.  Sam.  vi.  2 :  "  And 
David  arose  and  went  with  all  the  people  that  were 
with  him  from  Baale  of  Judah  to  bring  up  from 
thence  the  ark  of  god,  whose  name  is  called  by  the 
name  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  that  dwelleth  between 
the  cherubim."    I.  Sam.  iv.  4 :    "So  the  people 


434  APPENDIX 

sent  to  Shiloh  that  thej  might  bring  from  thence 
the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts 
which  dwelleth  between  the  cherubim." 

I.  Kings  VIII.  23 :  "  Lord  God  of  Israel,  there 
is  no  god  hke  thee,  in  heaven  above  or  earth  be- 
neath, who  keepeth  covenants  and  mercy  with  thy 
servants  that  walk  before  thee  with  all  their 
hearts."  Judges  viii.  33 :  "  And  it  came  to  pass 
as  soon  as  Gideon  was  dead,  that  the  children  of 
Israel  turned  again,  and  went  whoring  after  Baa- 
lim and  made  Baal-Berith  their  god. 

Judges  X.  13,  14:  "Yet  ye  have  forsaken, 
me,  and  served  other  gods,  wherefore  I  will  deliver 
thee  no  more.  Go  and  cry  after  the  gods  ye  have 
chosen,  let  them  deliver  you  in  the  time  of  your 
tribulation."  Judges  x.  16:  "And  they  put 
away  the  strange  gods  that  were  among  them  and 
served  the  Lord,  and  his  soul  was  grieved  for  the 
misery  of  Israel."  I.  Kings  xi.  33 :  "  Because 
the}'  have  forsaken  me  and  worshipped  Ashtoreth 
the  goddess  of  the  Zidonians,  Chemoth  the  god 
of  the  Moabites  and  Milcom  the  god  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Amnion." 

Deut.  xxxn.  16 :  *'  They  provoked  him  to  jeal- 
ousy with  strange  gods,  they  sacrificed  unto  devils, 
not  unto  God:  to  gods  whom  they  knew  not,  to 
new  gods  that  came  newly  up,  whom  your  father 
feared  not."  Psalms  ex.  1 :  "  The  Lord  said 
unto  my  Lord  Sit  thou  at  my  right  hand  until  I 
make  thine  enemies  thy  footstool." 

What  Lord  was  it  that  was  speaking  to  the 


THE  EARLY  GODS  435 

Lord  of  David?  There  were  two  Lords  speaking 
to  each  other  if  we  can  credit  the  Psalmist. 

We  have  the  visitation  of  three  gods  in  Daniel. 
Daniel  i.  2 :  "  And  the  lord  gave  Jehoiakim 
king  of  Judah,  into  his  hand  with  a  part  of  the 
vessels  of  the  house  of  god,  and  he  carried  them 
into  the  land  of  Shinar  to  the  house  of  his  god, 
and  he  brought  the  vessel  into  the  treasure  house 
of  his  god." 

The  book  of  Leviticus  mentions  two  different 
gods.  Lev.  XIX.  18:  "Thou  shalt  not  avenge,  nor 
bear  any  grudge  against  the  children  of  thy  peo- 
ple, but  thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself. 
I  am  the  Lord."  Lev.  xx.  7:  "Sanctify  your- 
selves, therefore,  and  be  ye  holy,  for  I  am  the 

LORD   YOUR    GOD." 

Job  was  the  most  poetical  genius  of  the  Bible, 
and  he  presents  various  gods  in  his  interesting 
narration.  Job  i.  6 :  "  Now  there  was  a  day 
when  the  sons  of  god  came  to  present  themselves 
before  the  Lord,  and  Satan  came  also  among 
them."  In  that  verse  there  are  three  immortal 
personages  represented.  God  is  represented 
through  his  sons,  who  represented  themselves  to 
the  Lord,  and  Satan,  who  is  here  mentioned  for 
the  first  time  in  the  Bible,  and  who  appears  as 
powerful  as  the  Lord.  Job  seems  to  have  had  two 
attending  gods  or  spirits ;  one  was  known  by  the 
common  name  of  God,  and  the  other  Almighty. 
This  distinction  is  kept  up  all  through  the  book 
of  Job. 


436  APPENDIX 

Passing  from  Job,  we  come  to  Psalms,  and  in 
that  transit  we  perceive  a  new  conception  of  god. 
David  intended  the  Psalms  as  songs  of  praise  to 
his  ideals.  His  gods  were  like  those  of  Job,  and 
administered  their  blessings  and  curses  in  this 
life ;  neither  believed  in  a  future  existence. 

Psalms  IV.  4,  5 :  "  Return,  0  Lord,  deliver  my 
soul :  O  save  me  for  thy  mercies'  sake,  for  in  death 
there  is  no  remembrance  of  thee;  in  the  grave, 
who  shall  give  thee  thanks?"  The  Lord  is  the 
god  of  David. 

Ps.  VII.  1,  3:  "O  Lord  my  God,  in  thee  I 
put  my  trust.  O  Lord  my  God,  if  I  have  done 
this."  Ps.  vn.  17 :  "I  will  praise  the  Lord  ac- 
cording to  his  righteousness ;  and  will  sing  praise 
to  the  name  of  the  Lord  most  high."  Ps.  viii. 
9 :  "  O  Lord,  how  excellent  is  thy  name  in  all 
the  earth?"  Ps.  xviii.  31:  "For  who  is  god 
save  the  Lord?  Or  who  is  the  rock  save  our 
God?"  Ps.  XX.  7:  "  Some  trust  in  chariots,  and 
some  in  horses :  but  we  will  remember  the  name  of 
the  Lord  our  God."  Ps.  xxiv.  9:  "Lift  up 
your  heads,  O  ye  gates ;  even  lift  them  up,  ye 
everlasting  doors,  and  the  king  of  glory  shall 
come  in.  Who  is  the  King  of  glory?  The  Lord 
of  hosts,  he  is  the  King  of  glory."  Ps.  xxxi.  14 : 
"  But  I  trust  in  thee,  O  Lord :  I  said  thou  art  my 
god."  Ps.  xxxni.  12 :  "  Blessed  is  the  Nation 
whose  god  is  the  Lord;  and  the  people  whom  he 
hath  chosen  for  his  own  inheritance." 

Here  comes  a  new  god.     Ps.  lxviii.  4 :     "  Sing 


THE  EARLY  GODS  437 

unto  god,  sing  praise  unto  his  name:  extol  htm 
that  rideth  upon  the  heavens  by  his  name  jah, 
and  rejoice  before  him." 

Here  we  are  introduced  to  a  local  god  of  one 
certain  hill,  he  cannot  be  the  God  of  heaven.  Ps. 
XLViii.  16:  "  Why  leap  ye,  ye  high  hills.?  This 
is  the  hill  which  god  desireth  to  dwell  in ;  yea,  the 
Lord  will  dwell  in  it  forever." 

Then  David  goes  on  to  speak  of  his  powers  as 
a  warrior.  Verse  17 :  "The  chariots  of  God  are 
twenty  thousand,  even  thousands  of  angels:  the 
Lord  is  among  them  as  in  Sinai,  in  the  holy 
place."  Job  xxiii.  16:  "For  God  maketh  my 
heart  soft,  and  the  ai^mighty  troubleth  me."  Job 
XXVII.  11 :  "I  will  teach  you  by  the  hand  of 
God:  that  which  is  with  the  Almighty  I  will  not 
conceal."  Job  xxxiii.  4 :  "  The  spirit  of  God 
hath  made  me,  and  the  breath  of  the  Almighty 
hath  given  me  life."  Job  xxxiv.  12 :  "  Yea, 
surely  God  will  not  do  wickedly,  neither  will  the 
Almighty  prevent  judgment:"  Job  xxxv.  13: 
*'  Surely  God  will  not  hear  vanity,  neither  will  the 
Almighty  regard  it."  Job  xxxviii.  7 :  "  When 
the  morning-stars  sang  together,  and  all  the  sons 
of  God  shouted  for  joy." 

God  certainly  had  sons,  for  that  fact  is  often 
spoken  of  in  the  Bible,  which  proves  one  of  two 
things :  that  is,  that  there  was  more  than  one  god 
recognized  by  the  children  of  Israel,  or  that  Jesus 
Christ  was  not  the  only  begotten  son  of  God. 

Hosea  presents  us  with  a  business  spirit  under 


438  APPENDIX 

the  name  of  god ;  he  must  have  been  a  Jew  in  his 
earth  life,  for  he  seems  to  understand  all  the 
tricks  of  trade.  Hosea  xii.  6,  7 :  "  Therefore 
turn  thou  unto  thy  god ;  keep  mercy  and  judg- 
ment and  wait  on  thy  god  continually ;  he  is  a 
merchant,  the  balances  of  deceit  are  in  his  hands, 
he  loveth  to  oppress." 

Isaiah  xlh.  8 :  "I  am  the  Lord ;  that  is  my 
name:  and  my  glory  will  I  not  give  to  another, 
neither  my  praise  to  graven  images." 

This  does  not  comport  well  with  the  following : 
Ps.  Lxxxm.  18:  "That  men  may  know  that 
thou,  whose  name  alone  is  jehovah,  art  most  high 
over  all  the  earth." 

The  Jews  and  Christian  divines  are  pleased  to 
ascribe  to  the  name  of  jehovah,  the  one  true  God, 
but  we  think  the  reading  of  the  Bible  in  the  light 
of  the  writers  Avill  not  warrant  that  interpretation. 

Ex.  vi.  2,  3 :  "  And  God  spake  unto  Moses,  and 
said  unto  him,  I  am  the  Lord:  And  I  appeared 
unto  Abraham,  unto  Isaac  and  unto  Jacob  by 
the  name  of  God  Almighty,  but  by  my  name  je- 
hovah was  I  not  known  unto  them."  Isaiah  xn. 
2 :  "  Behold,  God  is  my  salvation ;  I  will  trust, 
and  not  be  afraid:  for  the  Lord  Jehovah  is  my 
strength  and  my  song;  he  also  is  become  my 

SALVATION." 

Here  God  and  the  Lord-Jehovah  are  two  dif- 
ferent gods,  God  is  acknowledged  his  salvation 
and  the  Lord  Jehovah  is  become  also  his  salva- 
tion.    Isaiah  xxvi.  4 :     "  Trust  ye  in  the  Lord 


THE  EARLY  GODS  439 

forever,  for  in  the  Lord-Jehovah  is  everlasting 
strength."  It  is  plain  that  the  lord-jehovah 
is  a  different  god  from  Jehovah. 

We  have  many  references  to  the  compound  Je- 
hovah. Jeremiah  xxiii.  6 :  "In  his  day  Judah 
shall  dwell  safely,  and  this  is  his  name  whereby 
he  shall  be  called,  the  lord  of  our  righteous- 
ness." The  marginal  note  says  "Jehovah-Tsid- 
kenu."  We  have  Jehovah-Shammah,  Jehovah- 
Jireh,  Jehovah-Nissi,  Angel-Jehovah  and  Jeho- 
vah-Shalom. 

Isaiah  had  a  Holy  One  for  a  god.  Isaiah  xxx. 
11 :  "  Get  ye  out  of  the  way,  turn  aside  out  of 
the  path,  cause  the  Holy  One  of  Israel  to  cease 
from  before  us."  Verse  12 :  "  Thus  saith  the 
Holy  One  of  Israel." 

In  the  New  Testament,  besides  the  Old  Testa- 
ment gods  we  have  God  the  father,  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  Jesus  Christ. 

Now  if  there  be  any  question  that  God  was  es- 
teemed a  spirit  by  the  Bible  writers,  we  will  call 
no  less  important  witnesses  than  John  and  Paul. 
John  IV.  24 :  "  God  is  a  spirit,  and  they  that 
worship  him  must  worship  him  in  spirit  and  in 
truth."  I.  Cor.  xv.  45 :  "  And  so  it  is  written. 
The  first  man  Adam  was  made  a  living  soul ;  the 
last  Adam  was  made  a  quickening  spirit."  II. 
Cor.  ni.  17:  "  Now  the  Lord  is  that  spirit;  and 
where  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  is,  there  is  liberty." 

When  the  Jews  were  condemning  Jesus  for 
**being  a  man,  maketh  himself  god,"  Jesus  an- 


440  APPENDIX 

swered,  "  Is  It  not  written  in  your  law,  I  said,  Ye 
are  gods?  If  he  called  them  gods,  unto  whom  the 
word  God  came,  and  the  scripture  cannot  be  brok- 
en ;  say  ye  of  him,  whom  the  Father  has  sanctified, 
and  sent  into  the  world,  Thou  blasphemest  be- 
cause I  said,  I  am  the  son  of  God  ?"  John  x.  34, 
35,  36.  So  Jesus  claimed  to  be  God  on  the  same 
principles  that  the  Jews  did  in  olden  times.  Men, 
spirits,  angels,  and  demons  were  all  called  gods, 
or  spirits,  which  meant  the  same  thing  only  in 
different  degrees  of  power  or  importance. 

We  assert,  therefore,  that  by  authority  of  the 
Scriptures  we  are  warranted  in  sa3ung  that  the 
whole  Bible  representations  of  God  are  unreliable 
fictions,  that  no  one  is  warranted  in  following  it 
for  proofs  of  a  Supreme  Being  as  such,  and  if  the 
Bible  were  all  we  have  of  a  controlling  intelligence 
of  the  universe  we  would  be  in  the  dark,  with  no 
way  to  extricate  ourselves.  For  no  one  ever  saw 
God ;  no  one  knew  Jesus,  nor  the  father  of  Jesus. 
Matthew  xi.  25,  26,  27:  "At  that  time  Jesus 
answered  and  said,  I  thank  thee,  O  Father,  Lord 
of  heaven  and  earth,  for  thou  hast  hid  these 
things  from  the  wise  and  pinident,  and  hast  re- 
vealed them  unto  babes.  Even  so.  Father:  for  so 
it  seemed  good  in  thy  sight.  All  things  are  de- 
livered unto  me  of  my  Father :  and  no  man  know- 

ETH  THE  SOX  BUT  THE  FATHER,*  NEITHER  KNOW- 
ETH  ANY  MAN  THE  FATHER,  SAVE  THE  SON,  AND 
HE  TO  WHOMSOEVER  THE  SON  WILL  REVEAL  HIM." 

John  I.   18:     "No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any 


THE  EARLY  GODS  441 

time ;  the  only  begotten  son,  which  is  in  the  bosom 
of  the  Father,  he  hath  declared  him."  I.  Timothy 
VI.  16:  "Who  only  hath  immortality,  dwelling 
in  the  light  which  no  man  can  approach  unto ; 
whom  no  man  hath  seen  nor  can  see:  to  whom  be 
honor  and  power  everlasting."  If  these  last  quo- 
tations are  true,  then  we  may  relegate  all  the 
former  gods  of  the  Israelites  to  the  region  of 
myths,  and  think  it  well. 

Following  the  fashions  of  earth,  as  all  of  these 
gods  did  to  a  certain  extent,  there  must  be  queens 
as  well  as  kings  of  heaven,  for  Jeremiah  found 
one.  How  many  more  there  were  we  do  not  know, 
for  women  were  kept  in  the  background  in  those 
days  more  than  they  are  now.  Jeremiah  vii.  18: 
*'  The  children  gather  wood,  and  their  fathers 
kindle  the  fire,  and  the  women  kneed  their  dough, 
to  make  cakes  to  the  queen  of  heaven,  and  to  pour 
out  their  drink-offerings  to  their  gods,  that  they 
may  provoke  me  to  anger."  Jeremiah  xliv.  17, 
18 :  "  For  we  will  certainly  do  whatsoever  thing 
goeth  out  of  our  own  mouth,  to  burn  incense  unto 
the  queen  of  heaven,  and  pour  out  drink-offerings 
unto  her  as  we  have  done;  we,  our  fathers,  our 
kings  and  our  princes,  in  the  cities  of  Judah,  and 
in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem ;  for  then  we  had  plenty 
of  victuals  and  were  well  and  saw  no  evil;  but 
since  we  left  off  to  burn  incense  to  the  queen  of 
heaven,  and  pour  out  drink-offerings  unto  her, 
we  have  wanted  all  things,  and  have  been  con- 
sumed by  the  sword  and  by  the  famine." 


442  APPENDIX 

What  a  travesty  on  the  conception  of  the  Ulti- 
mate Wisdom,  Goodness  and  Power !  No  one  can 
study  the  Bible  conception  of  God  and  come  to 
any  other  conclusion  than  that  the  Jews  recog- 
nized many  gods,  and  that  those  gods  were  none 
other  than  the  spirits  of  dead  men ;  of  this  fact 
many  other  proofs  might  be  presented,  were  it 
necessary. 


BS2420  .W222 

The  life  and  teachings  of  Jesus, 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00013  1088 


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